Naruto Uzumaki: A Rising Soccer Star
by Czar Ryno
Summary: Semi-AU. The ninja world is turned into a world united and divided by soccer (football/footy)! Naruto Uzumaki is looking to acheive the ultimate dream and become the best player in the Shinobi Premier League. Does he have what it takes to rise to that level? Can Naruto compete against Sasuke, the prodigy? And can the boy win over a young pinkette? NaruSasu friendship, NaruSaku.
1. Chapter 1: Child's Play

_**Summary: **The ninja world is turned into a world united and divided by soccer! Can Naruto become the star of the Shinobi Premier League, beat Sasuke and get the girl?_

**A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you for clicking on my story and I hope you will enjoy the journey! If you aren't a fan of soccer, I still encourage you to give this a chance. I hope I can intertwine soccer with romance and friendship and truly make this a good fan fiction, of course that may not happen seeing as this is my first one, so be as critical as you'd like, I like being challenged and encouraged. I will add little letters next to a word for phrase you may not understand, and you can find the description of that letter at the end of the chapter. So without further ado, this is it! My first fan fiction entitled, Naruto Uzumaki: A Rising Soccer Star  
**

**Chapter 1: Child's Play**

Soccer is considered the beautiful game. The way the players move, the passes, the skills, the vicious strikes on goal, it is all a beautiful sight to see. There is a certain suave that follows a good dribbler, a certain sense of idolism to a good captain, and a striking sense of awe to that one special goal scorer. Some people say that soccer isn't anything special and that passing and shooting a ball into a goal is easy, so…

"Why then is this shit so hard for me?!" A young, spiky haired, blond boy lay on his back in the middle of the soccer field, drenched in sweat and cramping up. A ball lay beside him slowly rolling away from a set of cones that formed a sort of zigzag pattern. "I just want to prove to those kids that I can do anything they can." The boy was disgruntled at his most recent failure, he was labeled the worse player in his class, and every time he tried to play with them, they just kicked all the balls at him, and on the rare occasion he did get to play, no one would ever pass him the ball or acknowledge him. Naruto Uzumaki just wanted to prove he was worth it. That he was as good as everyone else, even as good as him.

_Sasuke Uchiha_.

Just thinking of the name caused him to grind his teeth and clench his fist. Sasuke was the younger brother of world-renowned striker, Itachi Uchiha, who played for Akatsuki FC. Sasuke is considered the best in his class, and some even call him the most promising individual in Konoha. Some people say he may even become better than Itachi is! He is regarded highly by all his peers, but more important to Naruto, he is highly regarded by all the girls, more specifically, her.

_Sakura Haruno._

Ever since he could remember, Naruto found himself in awe of the young, 13 year old girl. Her beautiful pink hair, her slim body, and even her forehead, everything about her was fantastic in Naruto's eyes. He knew though that she had her heart set on Sasuke, and didn't even acknowledge him. _Sasuke _this _Sasuke _that. What was so special about him anyway? Sure, everyone knew he was really good-looking, but what did he have beside that? What's so cool about a guy who shows no emotion? Naruto tried every day to make Sakura notice him instead of Sasuke, but she just ended up beating him over the head and telling him to get lost.

Naruto let out a sigh as he stood up shakily, he put his hands on his hips and just stared at all of the things he failed at. He set out all the cones he could steal out of the soccer academy storage room, and spread them across the field in many different fashions, one was meant for passing, another for sprinting, and another set was set up so he could practice his shooting. All the balls he had brought out were scattered across the field, most of them a distance away, (thanks to his poor shooting), and the ones he used for the passing accuracy drill were almost nowhere near the intended cones. He let out a deeper sigh and sat down, putting his hands around his knees and looking at the ground in a sense of defeat. "Why me? Why can't I just be as good as everyone else?" he said quietly to himself. Naruto and the other boys were finally old enough to join Konoha's only children's soccer academy, something almost every kid did when the time came. The amount of people who made it beyond that though, was very few.

Every child usually has the same dream going into the academy, to become a top player in the Shinobi Premier League, and play for their respective lands, in the case of Naruto and the others, the Land of Fire National Team. The Land of Fire's team is typically comprised of players that grew up in Konoha, as the only other villages within it are very, very small. Players are called up to their national team's every once in awhile to play against other lands in a friendly and then they all gather for the major tournament that every one tunes into once every 4 years, the Shinobi World Cup. The tournament had just ended recently and the Land of Lightning edged out the Land of Fire in a close final. Everyone tuned in to watch as Killer B defeated the Land of Fire's defense in the dying seconds of the match. After the game, the village of Konohagakure was in despair, but the game sparked interest in the eyes of all the young kids, so that the incoming class of the academy was one of the largest the village would ever see.

Naruto stared blankly at the mid-day sky as he contemplated how he could possibly become as good as the others, especially that Uchiha. 'One day Sasuke, just you wait' Naruto thought to himself. Naruto had closed his eyes to take in what remaining sun there was in the sky when he suddenly felt something watching over him. "What the hell are you doing here, Uzumaki?" Naruto opened his eyes to see a group of boys standing around him. "Oh hey, Aoto," Naruto remarked in an irritated fashion. Aoto was some snot-nosed kid who thought he was just the greatest thing ever, he walked and talked with such arrogance and made snide remark after snide remark to everyone else. He thought that he was actually good at soccer, but that was laughable, even to Naruto. In fact, his skills were comparable to Naruto's, and that is saying something. "Why don't you go somewhere else, loser, we are going to play now." Aoto turned around to motion to everyone he had brought with him, amongst them were a couple of nobody's (i.e. Aoto's friends), as well as Shikamaru, the tactical genius. There was Neji, regarded as one of the best passers of the ball as it seemed he could see 360 degrees around him. Then Choji, the goalie who despite his size, seemed to cover the whole net. Finally, there was him. Sasuke stood, holding the ball against his side with one hand, and staring at the goal with his blank, black eyes. "What is teme doing here then?!" Naruto said angrily. Sasuke heard Naruto's obnoxiously loud remark, and simply let out his most famous "Hn." something that was so meaningless, but said in such a calm, nonchalant manner, that you couldn't help but become irritated.

"Maybe because he actually has some skill, unlike you Uzumaki," Aoto friend's laughed at his remark, much to the spiky blonde's rage. "I bet I could kick your ass, dattebayo!" Naruto replied after being made fun of for his skills for yet another time. "You said that last time you idiot, and that ended with you missing a wide open net and then us having to kick YOUR ass, for being so bad." Aoto chuckled. This made Naruto furious, sure last time he totally missed that open net, but he swore that he couldn't see because the sun was in his eyes (even though the sun was at high noon, but that is besides the point), Naruto knew if he was going to make it far in the academy, he would have to start getting better, and what better way and time to do it.

"Just let me play with you guys, and I will show you that I can compete with all of you and am just as good!" Naruto shouted. Aoto looked him square in the eye, "You want to play with us again after last time? And let's not forget the time before that when you almost popped the ball from landing on it so hard, or the time before that when you got so angry you picked the ball up and threw it at Sasuke, who then just ended up kicking yo…" Naruto cut him off before Aoto could finish, "You know what? If I don't score this game, I won't join the academy with you guys!"

This got Aoto's attention. "Is that so? Fine by me, I guess you can kick any dreams you have involving soccer goodbye after we are done here."

'Damn! I didn't mean to be that drastic…' Naruto thought, he had just meant to say that he wouldn't ask to play with them again, but I guess he was serious. Well, now he couldn't "guess" that he was serious, he had to be. Naruto was a man of his word; he never went back on it. That was his mantra. There was no turning back now; his future might just possibly depend on it.

"I will even make it a little easier for you, Uzumaki ! How about you are on Sasuke's team? That way your chances are a little better than impossible." Aoto said in a rather teasing manner. "Hold on," Sasuke spoke in his monotonous tone, "Why do I have to be stuck with the dobe?" A few chuckles were let out by some of the others. "Shut your trap teme!" Naruto shouted, "You better stay out of my way!" The two locked eyes and sparks of anger were present. As the boys split into two teams, they went over the basic ground rules again.

First one to 5 wins.

There is no offsides **(A)**

No dirty fouls (unless they are on Naruto, Aoto silently added)...

and so on and so forth, until they were all ready to play. The teams were divided in a simple 5v5 manner. One team is Naruto, Sasuke, Choji and two others. They will verse Shikamaru, Neji, Aoto and another pair of boys. Sasuke took the ball he was holding and placed it in the middle of the field, "We start because of the dobe over here," Sasuke said as he nodded his head over to Naruto. "Fair enough," Aoto said, "Game on." Sasuke took the ball under his control, swiftly dribbling and holding off Aoto with the ball clung to his feet. Naruto just watched in awe at his movements, they were so clean, so perfected.

Sasuke left Aoto in the dust, but found he was locked near the corner of the field, near the goal line, by Shikamaru and another boy. Shikamaru knew how Sasuke was going to do this, he was going to patiently wait until one of them made a move and immediately burst around them, so Shikamaru strategically positioned himself next to his defensive partner and bent his knees and got himself into a better defensive stance to defend against the smooth Uchiha. "Sasuke, pass the damn thing!" Naruto shouted wide open to his left. No one bothered to guard the direction Naruto was in because if they passed it to him, he would more than likely lose it anyway. Sasuke ignored the blonde's loud comment and took matters into his own hands. He took a few quick dribbles in Naruto's direction, causing Shikamaru and his teammate to move with him. _'What could he be doing, Sasuke doesn't usually dribble with his back towa…'_ before Shikamaru could even finish his own thoughts, Sasuke had begun to pivot. He quickly spun on his right foot, making it so he was now facing the goal line, then in one quick and fluid motion; he slipped the ball right in between Shikamaru and his defensive partner and was through on goal. **(B)**

_'What was that? I have never seen that move before!'_ Shikamaru thought, he was shocked as he watched Sasuke through on goal and about to score, Sasuke had already gained so much ground on him in such a short amount of time. Sasuke had nothing but the goal and the keeper in sight. It was a simple 1 on 1, nothing he couldn't handle. He feinted once to the left, causing the keeper to start to dive wrong way, which prompted Sasuke to complete his spectacular effort, with a simple tap-in finish. The opposing team he just tore apart was in shock, while Sasuke's teammates were amazed at their teammate's display, apart from Naruto of course. "Why didn't you just pass the ball to me earlier?! We would've scored already and not had to watch your ass show off!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke simply glared at the obnoxious fool and walked back to his half to start the game again.

"Whoa! Ino did you see that?! That was amazing." A pink haired girl said as she peeked around a tree a small distance away from the field. "Of course I saw it! That's Sasuke-kun for you. Even on the field he is just so dreamy." Ino said as she watched the Uchiha in a love filled daze. Sakura grew angry with her friend's reaction, but was distracted by someone yelling at Sasuke, "Is that Naruto?" She squinted and noticed the boy yelling at her beloved, "Naruto when I see you I am going to beat you to a bloody pulp, you annoying brat!"

After a bit of time the score wasn't exactly what Sasuke was thinking it would be, a 4-4 draw after Neji equalized. _'Could be a lot worse,'_ Sasuke thought,_ 'if it wasn't for me, these idiots would be getting killed.'_ And he was right, the only reason they scored 4 goals at this point was because of him, and the reason they had allowed 4 goals was because of Naruto, or at least that is who they blamed it on every time.

_'I need to score, and fast. I can't lose this, and I have to be the next one to score. I guess I have to try something different…'_ Naruto thought realizing he had one chance left at this. He couldn't screw this up, or that was it for him. No academy. No soccer. He had to do something and it had to be good. Naruto grabbed the ball and placed it on the halfway line, _'Nobody is going to pass me the ball, so either I have to do this myself, or get really lucky.'_ Naruto let out an upsetting sigh, his nightmares were about to become reality. _'Could this really be it?'_ he thought. "Well Uzumaki, might as well quit now! The only person who can get past us is Sasuke, and if we stop him, we can get past you all easily." Aoto called out with a sly smirk on his face. "Just you watch dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed. _'I just need to focus and be composed. I got this. Believe it.'_ He thought confidently to himself. "Would you hurry up already, brat!" shouted one of the boys on the other team._ 'Here it goes.'_ thought Naruto as he took a touch signaling a resume in the game. Neji charged forward towards Naruto, looking intent on making the Uzumaki mess up, Naruto took a quick glance and saw the Hyuuga prodigy gaining and panicked, _'Well, luck it is'_. He allowed the ball to stumble at his feet giving Neji ample opportunity to take the ball off of him.

"Dang it! Why does Naruto have to be on the same team as Sasuke?! He is going to lose them the game!" Sakura exclaimed to her blond friend. "Sakura, you do know this game is just a pointless match, right? It doesn't matter if they win or lose." The blond said to her friend. "I know that," said Sakura, "I just don't want Sasuke to lose. He never loses!"

Neji closed in on the blond boy and reached his foot out to make a tackle, but Naruto had finally composed his feet and began to move forward as Neji was moving in. This prompted the two to fall to the ground and land on top of one another, leaving the ball out in the open. It was a rush to see who could get it first as all the boys converged on the loose ball. When Naruto and Neji collided, Naruto ended up underneath Neji and was unable to get up to the ball in time as the other's converged on it. The first two there were Sasuke and Aoto. The two boys both hit the ball at the same time, but Sasuke had a stronger kick in comparison to the rather weak, Aoto. This caused the ball to roll towards the goal Sasuke and Naruto were attacking and be left open for anyone to get to once again, lucky enough for Naruto, he was the closest one. Naruto was already on his feet by then and began to run towards the ball. 'This is it!' Naruto thought as he was through on goal, _'I only have the goalie to beat, I am bound to score!'_ Naruto wound up his kick, but as he was about to kick it he was hit from behind by a defender. The defender hit his planted leg, causing Naruto's leg to swing forward with a good amount of force. That leg was able to get underneath the ball, and because the boy added a swiping motion at the end of his tackle, Naruto's leg lifted the ball up, off the ground and over the goalie's head. The ball then bounced over the line and went in. A stunned silence fell over the ground.

_'Did Naruto just…?!'_ is what everybody thought simultaneously.

"Wow, I can't believe it." explained Choji from the opposite goal.

"Neji, I'm not going crazy, am I?" said a shocked Shikamaru. "You aren't, he actually did it." said Neji, who despite his typical monotonous and authoritative tone, he had a hint of confusion in his voice.

"Hn." Sasuke just looked on at the ball in the net, and then took a glance at Naruto on the ground.

_'Did Naruto really just score a goal…'_ thought Sakura, _'that baka just scored…'_ Her mouth was open slightly at the sudden and rather shocking scene that she just witnessed. "Sakura? Sakura!" shouted Ino at the stunned pinkette. "Did you even hear me? I said that Naruto won the game!" Sakura still didn't budge from her shocked state and barely heard what the blond had just said in front of her. _'Sure, it was just a game that meant nothing, but Naruto never scores…never.'_

Naruto lay on the ground with his head turned on its side, looking at the ball on the ground inside the net. It took him a moment to process what he had just done. _'I scored…'_ he thought, "I scored!" Naruto yelled as he stood up and gave his infamous grin, "What now, Aoto? I told you I could compete with you guys!" Naruto exclaimed towards an irritated Aoto. Aoto was still on the ground after Sasuke's powerful kick knocked him down and he was just as much in shock as everyone else, but had a hint of anger at the boy for making fun of him. "That was just luck, you barely even did anything! If it wasn't for that tackle, you probably would've missed by a mile!" Aoto stated angrily. "You are just jealous that I scored and you didn't aren't you?" Naruto retorted, putting his tongue out at the boy afterwards. Aoto walked up to Naruto in a rage and picked him up by his jumpsuit collar, "Listen here, just because you got lucky one time, doesn't mean that you have a right to make fun of me, got that?!" Naruto just stared at him while Aoto held him up. "Aoto, that's enough. You lost, get over it." Everyone turned their heads toward the person that was speaking up for the boy, it was Sasuke. "I'm going now." Sasuke then walked to pick up the ball he had brought and left.

"Why is Sasuke standing up for a dobe like Naruto?" Ino asked, curiously looking at the boy who had just spoken up when he was about to get pummeled. "All this is just too weird." she said. Sakura was now really in a daze, a dead last like Naruto just scored a goal, and then Sasuke stood up for him? What was happening? Ino was still looking at the field when Sakura noticed that Sasuke was beginning to leave, _'Now is my chance to get him alone!'_ Sakura thought as she quietly left the area to catch up with Sasuke before Ino noticed. She had caught him as he was walking down the main road of the village, "Hey Sasuke-kun!" she yelled to him. Sasuke turned around to see the pinkette coming up to him, "What do you want?" he said in a rash tone. "I just wanted to say you did amazing today out there, I was watching the game and just thought you were sooooo good, and well, I was thinking maybe you wanted to go get some dinner together, seeing as the sun is about to go dow…" she was stopped by the raven-haired Uchiha, "I'm not hungry. I'm going home." Sasuke then immediately turned back around and kept walking. "Wait, Sasuke-kun! Maybe we can do something else th…" her voice drifted off as she watched the boy ignore her as he kept walking. Sakura let out a long, sad sigh as she was rejected. Again.

Sakura took a seat on a nearby bench and put her elbow on her leg and rested her head on her hand, "Why won't Sasuke just go out with me? Is something wrong with my appearance?" she said quietly to herself, trying to come up with things that could possibly be wrong with her. "Hey Sakura!" a cry directed at her came from down the road, she looked up to see a dirty Naruto walking towards her, "Oh great. What does he want?" She muttered as the boy approached. "Hi, Sakura-chan! I saw you and Ino watching the game that we were playing earlier, I was pretty good, huh?" Naruto exclaimed with a sense of success as he acknowledged his previous lucky efforts, he put on his typical large grin and rubbed the back of his head. _'How did he see Ino and I?'_ Sakura thought, _'I was sure we were pretty hidden…'_ she thought to herself what gave them away, but she had to deal with the boy in front of her first. "I actually didn't see it Naruto" she said to him, lying, causing the boy's smile to be replaced by a mere smirk. "Ahh, well it was fantastic anyway, just shows that I can compete with them and am just as good as they are right? Hehe." he stopped chuckling at the sight of the pink-haired girl in a sad state, "Is something wrong, Sakura-chan?"

She looked up at him for the first time that day, his big blue eyes shone brightly as the setting sun hit his face, his cheeks were sun-kissed from being outside too long, giving a hint of an incoming tan, this brought out his famous whisker-like birthmarks and gave his face a fullness, "Oh, it's nothing," she said. Another lie. She looked back down at the ground, still upset after her most recent denial. "Are you sure you are alright Sakura-chan? You know if anything is wrong you can always talk to me?" Naruto then gave her a sincere smile, causing her to cheer up at the sight of something so sincere and meaningful. "Thank you, Naruto." she said quietly. "So I was thinking," Naruto started, "maybe you wanted to go get some Ichiraku Ramen with me, my treat?" Naruto gave her the same smile he did earlier when he was talking about his goal, but that went away when she didn't reply , _'She normally would've hit me by now, but she doesn't even seem the slightest bit angry.'_ Naruto thought. Sakura looked at the blonde boy and really appreciated his sincerity, but she really wasn't in the mood to deal with him right now. "Sorry Naruto, but I am going to have to pass. I'm pretty sure I need to be getting home anyway." Naruto wasn't as hurt as he normally was, but he was still disappointed in her reply. "Oh, well ok, Sakura-chan, I guess I will be seeing you later then." Sakura stood up from a bench, took a deep look up at the sky and then looked back down at the boy, "Yeah, bye Naruto." and with that the pink-haired girl left, leaving Naruto on the bench, alone. Like usual.

After watching the pink haired girl leave, he got up off of the bench and looked up at the sky, just like she had. The sun was beginning to set and as it clipped the horizon line, it gave off an orange glow, which in turn, gave the the sky shades of red all across the surrounding sky line. A pinkish tint was the predominant shade across the horizon. The young boy gazed at the beautiful sight before he was disturbed by his stomach, _'GRRR.' _Naruto then rubbed his stomach in response to its call for food. Then, Naruto reached for his wallet in his pocket and found enough money to go somewhere that always made him feel better, Ichiraku. As Naruto walked through the streets towards the ramen stand, all dirtied from the game he had just finished only a short time ago, he began to feel a true sense of accomplishment, not just for proving the kids wrong, but for something more than that. He felt his dream would continue. Just playing that one pick-up soccer game with the other boys, a sense of burning desire was prompted in his heart, the one thing he felt he was missing. This desire was spurred by failure, and it became bigger by accomplishment. Naruto didn't know it, but this was his turning point.

**(A) **– Offsides is a rule in soccer that a player has to be in front of the second to last man, and that can include or exclude the goalkeeper.

**(B) **–This is move is difficult to describe, but it is called the Berba Spin. The move is named after Dimitar Berbatov who recently transferred to, French money club, AS Monaco, but made a name for the move for Manchester United against West Ham.

Don't freak out my first fellow readers! I have merged my first few test chapters into one larger chapter just like I had said I would! Hope you guys enjoy my first chapter, I hope I set the stage well for this story. See you all next time!


	2. Chapter 2: The First Day

**A/N: Why hellooooo everybody! I have a nice new chapter here for you all today. I hope lots of people get around to reading this one because I was really proud of the viewership it got, and I just hope that all of the rest of my chapters get a similar amount of attention. This chapter may not be my best one that I make because I found it hard for some reason, I guess I hit a little bit of a stump already, but those come often when you just write whatever you think will sound good at the time of writing, rather than making a storyboard or something like a professional writer would :P Anyway, please, please, please leave a review if you like it or see something wrong or anything! I just want feedback from you all to see if there is anything you really like or something that I could do better with. Without further interruption, here is Chapter 2! Enjoy.**

**Chapter 2: The First Day**

**Small time skip**

Tomorrow was the inaugural day at the soccer academy for the incoming class in Konoha. The boys that had signed up were sent a letter in the mail describing the attire they would need to bring, and an order form for their academy jerseys and practice outfits. Every boy was to bring a pair of shin guards, boots, and a ball and would be given everything else at the entrance. The academy was located towards the center of town and was very large in size. Inside was a full field, as well as one large practice one. Every incoming class' first day began with a scrimmage in which their teacher would try and fit the young players into, what seemed to be, their best positions. After the game on the first day, they would be divided into two teams for the next day. One team would consist of players that were guaranteed an academy roster spot, while the other consisted of players that are 50/50 as to if they would make it or not.

Naruto awoke that morning to the sun hitting his eyes from behind his window that overlooked his bed. He sat up groggily and wiped his eyes, trying to resist the urge to flop back on his comfy bed and go back to sleep. He then stood up, walked toward his pantry and pulled out his typical breakfast meal, a cup of instant ramen. While Naruto prepared that, he went over to his refrigerator, pulled out a carton of milk and put some in a glass. As Naruto ate his "breakfast," he couldn't stop thinking about tomorrow. Nervous wasn't really the emotion he was feeling, at least not then. He was feeling anxious, wondering if he was good enough. Naruto wasn't normally one to doubt himself, especially after what he had accomplished a few weeks ago, but that incident wasn't something to ride off of for such a long time. Actually, when he remembered that moment, he didn't focus on the fact that he scored or making Aoto eat his words, but that Sasuke stuck up for him. He felt that when Sasuke said those words that there was maybe a bond between them, one that he had never really acknowledged before.

Sasuke and Naruto have known each other for as long as they can remember, they were in the same classes in school, and also played on the same little kid's soccer team. No matter what the situation, the two always found something that they could compete over. Whether it was who could take their test the fastest and get the most right, or eat the fastest. Anything really, as long as one of them proved something to the other. Although Naruto really wasn't that bad at anything, Sasuke was just better. Naruto always lost and that always made him angry at Sasuke, yelling at the raven haired boy every time that he cheated or some other lame excuse. Maybe that is what clouded the connection that the two boys actually had with one another. Naruto had never thought to consider Sasuke a friend; he was always his rival, while Sasuke always considered Naruto a dumbass, never on equal terms with him.

Naruto's train of thought was interrupted by a knock at the door. Naruto got up and went to open the door and found Hiruzen Sarutobi in the doorway with a box in his hands. He had a nice, old person smile on his face as he looked down at the boy, "Why hello there Naruto," he said nicely. "Oh hey, gramps. What are you doing here so early?" Naruto asked. Hiruzen looked irritated, he hated being called that. "Well Naruto, seeing as tomorrow is going to be your first day at the soccer academy, I thought I would give you a good luck present. Here. Open it," he said handing Naruto the box. The boy looked curiously at the box as he grabbed it from the old man's hands. It had a little bit of dust on it, and was just your normal brown packing box. Naruto opened the top of the box and dug a hand inside. His eyes lit up with happiness as he felt the item inside. He grabbed the item in his hand and removed it from the box, causing his mouth to drop in shock and awe as he finally saw what he was holding. "Old man, are these really…?" he asked. "They sure are. Those are the boots **(A)** worn by Konoha's very own Yellow Flash when he was your age." Naruto couldn't believe it. He was really holding the same boots THE Yellow Flash wore when he entered the academy! Naruto stared at the moment still in shock by the old man's gift. The boots were originally a pure white color, but no had a slightly brown tint to them, probably from being so worn out and from aging. On top of the white were three yellow zigzags on both sides and yellow laces on top, as if they were made just for him way back when. Everyone in the village knew the story of the Yellow Flash; he was the best player to ever come out of the Land of Fire and is still their all-time leading goal scorer. He was world-renowned for his efforts in his first Shinobi World Cup, playing in it at only 15 years old! He guided the Land of Fire to their second World Cup trophy that same year and went on to win it one more time. His career ended abruptly though, when he and his wife were found dead after a robbery attempt turned into a homicide, leaving their new born child behind.

"Wow old man, thanks! These are amazing," he glanced down at the boots once more, _'I can't wait to use these tomorrow! Maybe some of the Yellow Flash will rub off on me when I wear them…'_ Naruto thought. "It was the least I could do for you Naruto. I will see you tomorrow at the academy entrance. Good luck!" he said as he walked out of Naruto's little apartment and closed the door. He walked over to his small kitchen table and put the boots on. "Wow, these fit perfectly…" Naruto just stared at the shoes on his feet; he couldn't let the legacy of the Yellow Flash down.

The next morning Naruto sat up from his bed and yawned, _'Man, I slept great last night…'_ he thought. That was when he looked at the clock, it read 9:51. "Oh crap, I'm going to be late!" he exclaimed. The first day at the academy began that day at 10am. So Naruto got up quickly, as he hopped up from his bed. He quickly grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, grabbed the shin guards off his counter, found his socks underneath his bed and grabbed a ball from the closest and was about to run out the door when he thought he was forgetting something. "Oh yeah! Can't forget these," grabbing the boots the old man gave him the day before. Naruto ran outside his room and closed the door, and with a ball and the boots he ran towards the Academy.

When Naruto arrived he was greeted by the old man, who was seated next to a guy who held a clipboard in his hands. "Ah Naruto, cutting it close as always." he gave a soft smile to Naruto, as the boy chuckled and rubbed the back of his head at the comment. "Naruto Uzumaki…let's see…oh, here is your name," he marked off his name with a pen and said, "Here is your uniform and warm-up clothes, you will find a locker room on your right when you enter, after you are all dressed and ready, and the game is about to begin, you will be given a colored penny **(B) **so that we can identify which team you will be on. Good luck!" The man smiled and Naruto thanked him as he went inside and into the locker room. Once he was in the locker room, the room was nearly empty, apart from a few people here and there. 'Hm. I guess most people are already out there.' Naruto thought. He found a seat on a bench and undressed, then putting his own clothes in the locker, and putting on his new ones. After he had put on his warm-up uniform like he was supposed to, he closed his locker and was startled by a face behind it, "Well look who decided to show up. If it isn't Naruto Uzumaki…" Naruto regained composure after being startled by the boy, when he looked at him again, he recognized him, "Oh. Hey Kiba," Naruto replied rather uninterested in talking to the dog-lover, "What do you want?" Kiba replied, "Well I just wanted to say good luck to you these next couple days, you may just need it." Kiba give him a playful, but rather rough, push as he chuckled and walked away. _'Fucking dog-breath…'_ Naruto thought to himself as he put on his new boots and walked out onto the practice field.

When Naruto went through the doorway to the practice field he was amazed at the sight he saw, he had never really gotten to see, let alone play on a field as nice as this one. 'Wow, and this is only the practice field.' The field was nice and trimly cut grass, marked off with a distinct white lining and new goals with big goalposts and new netting. Naruto was admiring the facility still when he heard an older gentleman call out, "Already everyone, gather around so that we can began today's activities." Naruto hadn't really been paying attention to the people that were there at first, but when everyone was called in to gather around he began to notice a lot of familiar faces. Naruto walked over to where the voice of the man came from along with the other students. The voice came from a man who had on black track pants and a gray shirt. He had brown hair that ended in a ponytail and black eyes and had a long scar across the bridge of his nose. "Hello everyone, my name is Iruka Umino and I will be your coach while you are all here at the academy. While I coach you guys I do also play for the Premier League team here in Konoha, the Konoha 11 **(C)**. Anyway, enough about me, we will start off with roll."

"Choji Akimici?" _Here._

"Shino Aburame?" _Present._

As the names were being called out, Naruto looked around at how many of them there were. There were at least 50 of them, which meant that a little more than half of them would be cut. 'This could be a lot more difficult than I expected.' Naruto thought as he recognized some of the kids from school, some of them were more muscular looking than athletic.

"Neji Hyuuga?"

"_Here."_

"Kiba Inuzuka?"

"_Yo!"_

'_At least he doesn't have his damn dog with him…'_ Naruto chuckled inwardly, looking at the Inuzuka.

"Rock Lee?"

"_Present and as ready and as youthful as ever sensei"_

'_Oh god, not this guy again…'_ Naruto looked on at the strange individual with the insane bowl cut and the infamous eyebrows from which Naruto got his nickname for him, "bushy brow." _'Well, at least he isn't wearing his jumpsuit.'_ Despite his unusual appearance and annoying tendencies, Rock Lee was actually good, no; he was actually REALLY good. It was just the sport for him, he was nimble, agile, lightning quick, and all around good with his feet. Naruto had only seen him play once, but that one time left a crazy impression on Naruto. His skills were pretty enviable, but his looks on the other hand…

"Shikamaru Nara?"

"_Yep."_

"Naruto Uzumaki?"

Naruto looked up at Iruka after hearing his name. Though a little early to get excited, just hearing his name on the official preliminary list for the academy got himself all hyped up.

"Is Naruto Uzumaki here?"

At that point everyone was staring at him which in return made Naruto realize that he needed to speak up.

"Oh! Im here, Iruka-sensei!" He chuckled a little bit and rubbed the back of his head, a little embarrassed.

"Lastly, Sasuke Uchiha?"

In response to his name being called he just raised his hand slightly and gave a little, "Hn." along with it. _'That damn Sasuke, always attacking smug and cool…'_ Naruto thought in response to Sasuke's lack of one, giving Sasuke a clear as well only for it to go unnoticed by the Uchiha.

"Well, I believe that is everyone. Alright now we will pass out the pennies and divide you into 2 teams, but since there are so many of you, we unfortunately have to do preliminary cuts for the first time in the academy's history, meaning some of you will be cut today." This prompted some of the kids to whisper amongst one another. Naruto gulped after hearing that, he would have to give it his all right from the start.

"OK, now we will assign everyone to a team, if you are on team one, you will grab a blue penny, if you are on team two, you will grab a green one."

Naruto watched and waited patiently as name after name was called and each player picked up a penny and moved to their side of the field. Choji, Neji, and Shikamaru and Sasuke were on team one, while Shino, Kiba, Rock Lee and Naruto were on team two. "God dammit, we have Naruto," Kiba said angrily as the Uzumaki's name was told to go on team two, "We might as well quit now and save us the struggle." Naruto hastily replied, "Shut the hell up, dog breath!" Kiba and Naruto engaged in an intense stare down and yelling match, "Just make sure you keep away from me and don't make me look bad!" Naruto returned Kiba's tone, "Why don't you just keep your dirty paws away from me, and not make ME look bad? How about that?" The two were on the verge of trying to kill each other when Rock Lee decided to step in, "Guys! Let us not forget that we are meant to be working together, for we are on the same team! There is no point in wasting our precious youth bickering with a fellow teammate." The two looked dumbfounded at what Mr. Bowl cut had just tried to tell them before they looked back at each other and turned away from one another, crossing their arms. Shino just gave a small face-palm and said quietly, "This could be a long first day."

When both teams were all ready and set up, Naruto wasn't even on the field. He was designated to go in to the second rotation along with Shino and the others. Naruto watched with his elbow on his leg and his head in his hand. "Man, I just want to go out there and show what I am made of already!" Naruto said, rather angry at his misfortune. "Everyone will get their time eventually," Shino said creepily over Naruto's shoulder, so close to him that he was almost touching him. "AHH! Damn it, Shino! Why do you always have to be so damn creepy all the time?!" Naruto exclaimed as he was taken aback by the Aburame's unusual way of trying to help him.

The game began with the Green team in position. The first pass was made to Lee, who with his first touch of the ball exclaimed, "Let this match be played fairly and with the power of youth!" and with that Rock Lee stormed ahead with the ball blowing by the first defenders who had approached him. "Whoa, bushy brow is really fast!" Naruto exclaimed from the bench. Unfortunately, Lee didn't make it all the way through the defense, as he was stopped by Shikamaru, who took the ball off of him with a good tackle, and with the ball in his possession; he lazily made his way up the field with the ball rolling slowly at his feet. He was going rather slowly. He wasn't really jogging, but wasn't walking either. A defender tried to step up on him, but before he could, the Nara pushed the ball a little so it was out at his feet and sent the ball airborne over top the enemy defense. On the opposite side of the field was none other than Sasuke Uchiha, who, when he saw Shikamaru take the touch out of his feet, knew immediately what to do. Sasuke took off sprinting for the ball that perfectly pierced the defense and would put Sasuke in a 1 on 1 scenario with the goalkeeper. The ball landed precisely where Shikamaru had intended it and Sasuke took the ball out of the air with the most delicate of touches, leaving Sasuke with nothing else to do but put it into the net, and he did just that. Sasuke walked calmly back to his side after his perfect run and positioning, but nobody neglected the pass that Shikamaru gave him. It was a pass that a professional would rarely ever pull off and this was a 13 year old kid doing it.

"WAY TO GO SASUKE-KUN!" a chorus of girly shouts came from the opposite side of the field. Up atop the field was a stand of bleachers in which parents and other kids watched the match that was taking place. In one corner of the bleachers, was a group of girls who were there to watch and cheer on Sasuke. Amongst them was someone that Naruto recognized. As Naruto looked up at the bleachers, he caught the gaze of the pinkette that was there alongside a blonde girl. Naruto gave her a wave and big-toothed smile; the pinkette gave him a small wave and let out a quiet chuckle that showed her embarrassment of being picked out by him. He took his gaze away from her and directed it to the raven haired Uchiha that was still walking back after his display. Sasuke felt someone was watching him and turned to meet Naruto's gaze. The two stared each other down for a small period of time, faces of irritation were on them as they discontinued their stare down and refocused on the game at hand.

The game progressed with a counterattacking flow, one team would get the ball and get close to goal, then the other would take it off of them and run down the field, and then the other team would take it off of them and do the same thing. For the first few minutes Naruto watched the people he had recognized and tried to see how they were doing. Choji was really holding his own as a goalie; he saved shot after shot that came at him and seemed to take up the entire net. His reflexes needed a bit of work, but it was covered by the sheer amount of space he seemed to cover, his diving and his positioning were awesome and really seemed to contradict his stature. Neji was really living up to his name too. Every time he received the ball with his back towards the goal he was attacking, he was able to turn the ball fast the other way in a sort of rotation (A/N: HA! See what I did there? I'm too clever.). His visual prowess was also outstanding. He could thread an entire defense with one smooth pass. It helped a lot that he was very agile too. All in all, he was a pretty complete midfielder. Then there was Shikamaru, who was like a manager on the field. He told everyone around him where to position themselves and tried to set up accordingly along with them. All of his plans would've worked, but unfortunately, some of his teammates were too foolish to understand and would miss it up. His laziness was only noticeable when he got the ball, but off of it he never seemed to run very fast unless he had to. He is just like his father was, that's for sure. Next was Rock Lee, and well, despite his outrageous "youthful" antics, he was really exceptional. His speed was unmatched and his shots were beyond powerful. The only problem was that he seemed to lose the ball more often then he should, but he made up for it with his inhuman stamina. After Lee, there was the defender Kiba Inuzuka. Kiba played at the center of the defense and seemed to be very aware of his surroundings. His reactions to the play weren't fantastic, but his awareness of the situation going on around him sure was. He was rarely beat, and when he shielded you from the ball, it was near impossible to get around him. Last and certainly least in Naruto's mind was none other than Sasuke, while he seemed to dub everything Sasuke did as "easy" and that "he would do so much better if he was in," he really couldn't deny how good the teme actually was. Sasuke was, without a doubt, the best player on the field. Sasuke simply glided around the field, his movements were unparalleled and his touches were sublime, he played with tactical knowledge like Shikamaru, speed like Lee and prowess like Neji. He was everything you wanted in an attacker and more. Maybe he did have the quality to catch up with Itachi.

"How much longer are we going to wait on this damn bench, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto said, rather angry at the fact that the players on the bench, including him, haven't even seen the field yet. Iruka glanced at his watch and wrote some stuff down on the clipboard he was holding, "Well, actually there is about 5 minutes left before it is time to substitute everybody out and put you all in. Why don't you guys go on and get warmed up along the sidelines?" The boys stood up, but Naruto was still a little peeved there was still more time to wait. They went along the sideline and did some stretching; others tried to pass a stray ball they had found around, while others jogged up and down the side and just watched and talked about the game. _'My chance is finally coming.'_ Naruto thought to himself and he grinned inwardly. Instead of being anxious or nervous, Naruto felt a sense of excitement and a rush of adrenaline at the thought of competing against the others and proving something. _'After this, people aren't going to make fun of me for my abilities, but rather they will be jealous of them! I'll show them.'_ He was determined now, he looked down at the cleats he had on, those worn by the Yellow Flash himself, he bent down and gave each lace on both of his foot a tight tug making sure they wouldn't come undone, and he felt confident, something he hadn't felt in a long while. A whistle blew and everyone turned their attention to the sidelines, "Alright everyone, it's time to make the substitutions," Iruka exclaimed, "Everyone will be coming off that is on the field now and almost everyone that is off the field now will go in, and if I don't call your name to go in, you will be subbed on in a short while. First, I would like to see Naruto Uzumaki playing forward for his team, then I…" Naruto's concentration on what Iruka was saying ended there. This was his moment, his first real chance to prove himself. It was time to prove to everyone here that Naruto Uzumaki wasn't a failure anymore. It was his turn to shine.

– Boots are a more European term for cleats, as they say here in America.

– A penny is also called a bib, or something along those lines. It is one of those mesh things you put on over top your warm-ups for a drill or scrimmage or something.

– That is the name I am thinking of giving the Premier League team that comes from Konoha, and yes, I know that the Konoha 11 is the main characters from Naruto's class, but just roll with it.

**A/N:** **So here is where I would like some opinions from you all! If you have any suggestions for team names for all the different villages, then PLEASE leave them in a review or you can message me or something, because they are kinda hard to come up with :/ Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and are ready to see how Naruto plays during his time to shine! See you all next time!**


	3. Chapter 3: What a day

**A/N: Whoa! Hey everybody, how are you? I am absolutely fan-freaking-tastic thanks to you, my fantastic readers! I was super excited with the amount of viewers I got with the last chapter. It's great to see consistency in viewership, no matter how early in the story it is! I can already tell that this might end up being quite the long series, but I don't care and I hope you guys don't either, because right now, I honestly don't think I could enjoy writing this anymore than I do right now! It is really expressing a sense of creativity that I have never bothered with before and I love every minute of it. I am not sure if I will be able to bring out another chapter this weekend due to my own soccer schedule and it being Easter weekend, which I hope is fantastic for all of you viewing this. **

**Before this chapter starts I want to give a special shout out to my first two reviewers, fuertespedos10 and Key and Lock (which is an awesome name btw)! It means a lot to see that you guys took time to write a review, no matter how short they were. **

**That also reminds me, please suggest in a review or message me ideas for team names for the different villages, they aren't exactly easy to come up with, so your input would be duly appreciated.**

**Enough of my rambling and stuff though, here is Chapter 3!**

**Chapter 3: What a day**

All the girls shouted in a mesmerized daze as they watched the young raven haired prodigy come off the field signaling his shifts end, "Tsk," was all he could mutter at their insane infatuation with him. "Well now that Sasuke has gone off the field there isn't much to see…" said Ino disappointedly, "Wait, is that Naruto going on now? Maybe this could be a little more interesting." Sakura looked to see a blond boy sporting dirty white cleats start to walk towards the center circle, on the outside she didn't say anything or show it, but she was actually rather interested in how he would do.

Naruto and Sakura's relationship was, well, different, or at least that is how Sakura saw it. Sakura didn't remember much from her very early childhood with him other than that she actually was around him a lot, but the fact that he was an orphan caused most of the kids to keep a distance. Sakura coincided with the way others treated him and simply followed suit, but no matter how bad the kids treated Naruto he always tried to put a smile on his face and remain positive, something that Sakura had nothing respect for. Sakura knew that never in a million years could she handle the amount of abuse Naruto got on a daily basis from the kids, and even some adults. Hell, she could barely handle the kids OCCASIONALLY teasing her about her "large forehead." Sakura would always remember the moment her and the blond boy crossed paths, and her opinion of him changed forever.

It was a fall evening and school had been out for about for a few hours. She was walking out of her 3rd grade class after stopping by after running an errand for her parents and talking with her teacher about how she was doing in class. Sakura always put her grades first above all else, and because of that she was probably the smartest girl in her class, but that in turn got her on the bad side of a lot of the kids for some reason, she figured that it was probably just jealousy. As she walked home, she noticed a shadowy figure come out from the trees on the side of the road and approach her, the figure was only a couple of inches taller than her, and she can still clearly remember the shiny, white, mischievous smile that was visible. The figure came into view, but his facial features that she could use to identify him by were eclipsed by the darkness of the incoming night. Whoever the person was was a little chubby, but rather intimidating nonetheless, "Whatcha doing out near the school at this time, huh 'billboard brow'?" from the tone in his voice she could determine that it was at least a boy, but she could also figure out that his intentions weren't exactly good. Sakura was too frightened to reply to the mysterious and sinister boy and she began to tense up. She wanted to run away, but she was too scared. "Oh don't be afraid, you don't think I would actually hurt you do you?" the boy said rather mockingly, only intimidating the girl even more. She had tears in her eyes as the boy finally got within arms distance of her, as soon as he did; he knocked the girl to the ground with a solid push. Sakura landed on her elbow and when she looked at it, there was a large gash that was now flowing blood out of it, in fear; she let a few tears stroll down her face. "Awe, is wittle Sakuwa cwying?" the boy let out a chuckle and was about to put his hands on the girl when he was hit hard in the side causing him to fall back a few meters. Sakura looked up to see the blond boy wearing a white shirt and jeans; she looked in his eyes and saw a gleam of red, a true sense of anger and rage. That all cooled off though when he turned to look at her, he reached out a hand for her to grab, "Are you ok Sakura-chan?" he said grinning. She looked back into his eyes to see they had returned to his normal ocean blue, his eyes were so soothing to Sakura in that moment. She gave him a small nod and took a hold of his hand and let him pull her off the ground, and once he found her able to stand, he looked back at the one who attacked Sakura. "What do you think you are doing trying to hurt her?" he shouted. "Well, well, if it isn't a loser being helped by an even bigger loser?" he laughed and looked Naruto straight in the eye, "Why don't you just go back to your parents? Oh, sorry, my mistake. You don't have any!" The boy doubled over in laughter, but was quickly on his back again. Naruto had run over to him and socked him square in the face. Naruto then repeatedly punched the boy over and over in a furious rage, "DON'T YOU EVER SAY THAT AGAIN," the boy struggled to get the boy off of him, but was eventually successful, but when he got up, Naruto got a clean knee to the boy's ribcage. The boy kneeled down and coughed up a little blood, and said, "You will regret what you did here, Uzumaki." and ran away. Naruto calmed himself before turning back to the little pinkette, "I honestly don't think he will come back for you anytime soon," and with that Naruto chuckled again and walked over to Sakura with one hand rubbing the back of his neck with his famous smile, but it was different this time. It was a smile that made Sakura light up inside, she thought back to every time before that she had gotten picked on for her forehead or for her smarts, and no one had actually ever stepped up for her before. No one had ever thought to help her, and in her actual time of need, someone did, and it was someone she was used to mistreating all because she just wanted to fit in with everyone else. She couldn't bring herself to say anything, and that was when Naruto took a look at her arm with the gash on it, "Here, come with me, I can clean that up for ya," and Naruto took her by the hand and led her to his apartment where he went inside for a brief second and came back out with some gauze and proceeded to wrap Sakura's arm up. Once Naruto was done he looked the pinkette in her eyes, "There you go, all better." he gave her that same special smile from before, it was full of every positive emotion that someone could possibly feel, and it made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. "Thank you Naruto-kun," then she pecked him on the check and left for home, leaving the blond in front of his apartment, shocked at what she had just done.

Afterwards, Sakura tried to find time to talk with Naruto, but she still didn't want her friends to think badly of her, so she just ignored him when they made fun of him instead of joining in on it. For a few years they never really talked until 6th grade when Naruto asked her on a date, Sakura had actually kind of wanted to go, but she had recently made the realization that she really liked the Uchiha and so she denied him. That didn't stop the boy from trying over and over again, and now it seems almost like he is toying with her. She had actually said yes to him before, but she said that it was never a date and that she just wanted to go as friends. Of course, Naruto never saw it that way, so nowadays Sakura isn't as lenient with the boy as she was before, adding a good hit to her strong rejections to really try and get her point across, but this is Naruto we are talking about, and that worked to no avail. On the few days that they had actually gone together, they began to know a good amount about one another. When Naruto wasn't pestering her about this being a date, he was actually pretty good at small talk, they found out most of each other's basic likes and dislikes and began to grow fond of each other's company. Of course it could be something that occurred a lot more frequently had it not been for certain Uchiha.

Naruto glanced back at the stands as he stood on the halfway mark to see the pink haired girl still in the stands, _'Sakura gets to watch me play too? Oh this is going to be awesome!' _Naruto thought as he put his foot on the ball waiting for the signal to start his shift. Iruka jotted down some notes on his clipboard and blew the whistle to resume play. Naruto rolled the ball to the teammate beside him, who then passed the ball backwards to Shino. Shino then casually turned back to relay the ball to another teammate. Shino's style of play was a little unorthodox in that he didn't hang on to the ball for very long or run at all, but whenever he did get the ball, it was a quick pass to a teammate and then a point in the direction he wanted them to go to, as he didn't speak while playing ever. The ball rolled into the path of a boy who took the ball in stride down the right-hand side of the field, the boy ran out of space to run as a defender closed him down so he passed the ball towards another attacker that played off of the last defenders, but the pass was a little off and instead miss its intended target and rolled into a gap between the two central defenders, the ball seemed like it was going to be turned over when a fast blond took control of the pass.

"Whoa! When did Naruto get that fast?" exclaimed Kiba from the bench as he stood up to watch the spectacle, rather confused.

Naruto darted between the two defenders and took the ball in stride, he was in a one on one scenario with the keeper, so he took a quick shot, only for it to hit off of the post. The ball was then quickly cleared by the defending team and the attack was over. Naruto looked down at his feet;he had never run that fast before. Were the boots really making this much of a difference? The play was at the other side of the field and was being quickly passed around the midfield as they were trying to find that killer pass that would put them in a good goal scoring situation. Shino made an effort to take the ball, but the attacker evaded him, but was eventually stopped by a fellow defender, who passed it out and began the counter. Naruto looked for an opening to get the ball and found a gap in between two defenders and quickly accelerated into the gap, his teammate that was on the ball saw the opening, but failed to make the pass_. _Naruto knew his time to score was coming, he could just feel it. He felt a sense of confidence and charisma. He also kept thinking a constant thought that he knew he had the ability and he could show it, this was the drive that he had been looking for.

After a few minutes of failed attempts to get through on goal, the ball fell to Shino who made a quick pass to a player in front of him. Once he made the pass, Shino immediately pointed to the right, and swiftly, the teammate who received the pass turned that way, evading the defender who was on his back. As he turned he saw an opening and threaded the ball through the defense towards a fellow attacking player. On the other side of the defense was Naruto who was looking for a spot to help his attacking partner, but the defense was too staggered to do so. The boy on the ball was then converged on the ball by two defenders, who got the ball of off him, but let the ball roll into space, which so happened to be directly in front of Naruto. In an instant, Naruto saw his shot, it would have to be powerful and accurate, but it was doable. In front of the blond were two defenders, one was positioned a little ahead and to the right of the other, his feet were flat **(A)**,so as long as Naruto kept it away from him, he could get it past him, as for the other defender, he was rather short, so it would just be a matter of how high the ball went when he shot it. After the defenders, there was just the keeper to beat. He was more towards the right of the net, leaving him vulnerable to a good shot that was towards the left corner. Naruto quickly made a dash for the ball, he was able to curve his approach to the ball so he could put it on his stronger right foot and let it rip. The ball came off of his foot with great speed and strength, and because of his curved run, it curved a little too. The ball went past the stagnant first defender and just over the head of the second one, as the ball got closer and closer to the net it seemed to be getting faster and faster, the goalie was forced to dive if he had any chance to stop the shot. Time seemed to go in slow motion for Naruto as he just watched. The ball spun a little to the left and seemed to be inching away from the keeper's reach, as it gained enough speed to pass him; it seemed to Naruto that the ball may be going to high. Time resumed at its normal speed in Naruto's eyes and he watched as the ball thundered off of the underside of the crossbar causing an echo of furiously vibrating metal to be heard all throughout the field and stands. That's when the ball dropped over the line and hit the roof of net. Everyone just watched in stunned silence as the ball slowed to a roll within the net.

"YEAH!" Naruto said excitedly, jumping up and down, laughing at his most recent incomprehensible feat.

"What..?!" that was all the Nara boy could muster at what he just saw Naruto do.

"HOLY SHIT, AM I GOING CRAZY?! I CAN'T BELIEVE NARUTO JUST DID THAT!" Kiba shouted at his teammates from the bench. "That is what the spirit of youth in all of us is capable of!" exclaimed Lee, standing up from his seat, all Kiba could do was sigh at his comment.

Sakura and Ino, along with everyone else in the stands were completely silent. "Wow." Ino was beyond disbelief, along with everyone else. Sakura just sat with her mouth slightly open, in pure shock, _'Naruto...'_

"Great strike, Naruto." Iruka said with a smile on his face, looking at the Uzumaki. _'Looks like he could end up being just as unpredictable as his father was.'_

The speed of the scrimmage seemed a little slower after Naruto's memorable effort from what seemed like a really long distance, but was really only about 25 yards. Everyone was still in shock that the boy, who could barely pass the ball one day, could hit a ball so perfectly like he had just done. Naruto was getting into better positions to receive and pass the ball now, to say his confidence was flowing was an understatement. It was practically steaming off of him! He was even trying to get fancy with the ball at his feet, but of course, he was still Naruto and when he tried to fake out an opponent, he slipped on top of the ball, and fell cleanly on his face.

The game was coming towards its closing minutes and Shino had the ball again, this time he actually decided to move with it a little bit, but that didn't last long, and the ball was out of his feet with his hand out, indicating the player turn left with it. Once the player on the receiving end turned, he found Naruto with a quick pass. Naruto got the ball under control with a good first touch and intended to attack the defense with speed. He bursted his way past one player, and cut parellel to another, which made it a foot race. The defender wasn't as quick as Naruto, but his long legs helped him cover more ground than Naruto could, so Naruto changed direction and ran the width of the field, almost perfectly in between the goal box and halfway line. Naruto saw his strike partner making a good run and was going to make the pass to him, but Naruto was hit down and crashed into the ground. Hard. Naruto clutched his head for a second before shaking it off and sitting up, he was looking at the ground, not knowing who he was talking to, "Hey! What the hell was that all about?" he looked up to find no other than Aoto staring down at him. "Oh, I'm sorry I just came in a little late there," Aoto gave him a sarcastic and mocking wink and jogged to catch up with the play. _'That asshole, who does he think he is anyway? I didn't even know he was playing.'_

Two minutes later, a whistle was heard from the sidelines and all the kids turned to Iruka, "Alright kids that wraps up the first day of tryouts. The people who made the cut for tomorrow's final entrance scrimmage will be posted outside in a couple of hours. That ends today though, can't wait to see most of you back tomorrow!" The kids grabbed their soccer balls and returned to the locker room to head home until the sheet was posted and they all would rush back to check if their names were listed so they could come back the next day. Naruto walked into the locker room beaming with confidence, he plopped down on the bench, took his shirt off, and basked in the confident and happy mood he was in, 'Hey! Maybe today Sakura saw my goal and will definitely go ou…' Naruto's thought was rudely interrupted by a nice, hard slap on his bare back by the same person who had disturbed him before the scrimmage. "I have to give to ya kid, that goal was something else. Where did you ever learn to do something like that? I mean it felt like just yesterday that we all laughed at you when you could barely pass it to someone who wasn't even 10 yards away!" Kiba chuckled at his comment, but Naruto just looked at the boots that were still on his feet, _'Did I really learn that?' _he became confused and was contemplating the events that had happened around 20 minutes earlier until he was slapped on the back again by Lee, "Fantastic display out there Naruto-san! You really seemed to have a sense of power in you today." Naruto reached behind his back at the spot were Lee and Kiba had slapped him, a little irritated. "Thanks Lee," Naruto said still clenching his now aching back. He took off his boots and put on his normal clothes and left before someone could slap him on the back again.

As Naruto exited the academy, he turned towards his house when he was stopped by a tap on the back in the same place that both Kiba and Lee had just hit moments earlier, "AGH! Why does everyone have to keep hitting that same, damn sp… Oh, hey Sakura-chan!" Naruto turned to see her looking angry at him, "Umm… Sakura?" her face was looking like it was getting a little calmer but then she shouted at him, "WHY DID YOU YELL AT ME YOU DUMB, BAKA?!" then she gave him a nice smack upside the head, "OW! Sakura-chan, I'm sorry, it's just that when I was in the locker room…" he was cut off by Sakura, "Oh, save the excuses." Naruto let out a sigh of defeat and then put on a soft smile for the girl, "So did you actually see my amazing skills this time?" Naruto asked with that typical grin of his. Sakura looked uninterested, "Yes, Naruto, I actually did see it this time, and while I was pretty surprised that a idiot like you could pull that off, don't go around thinking you are hot stuff or anything," Naruto just chuckled and looked at her again, "Whatever you say, Sakura-chan. So why are you waiting out here? Are you actually interested in going out with me?" Naruto was quickly grabbing his head again. He should've seen that coming. "Ugh. No you idiot, I was waiting for Sasuke." Naruto's heart sank about as he inwardly sighed, _'That damn teme. Why does she like him so much anyway?' _Naruto blocked out his angry thoughts of strangling the Uchiha and just gave Sakura a simple reply, "Oh. I think he is still in there, he should be out here soon." He saw her eyes light up at the thought of Sasuke coming out and Naruto found it to be a good time to leave, "Well, I will see you around Sakura." Naruto turned to leave and didn't look back, he heard over his shoulder, "Naruto wait!" Naruto halted in his tracks and turned around, "I actually thought that you did well out there, who knew you could do any of those things you did today. I was really impressed." Sakura added a soft smile to the only real compliment he can remember her giving him, "Oh. Well, thanks Sakura-chan." The disappointed feeling he had earlier left and the happy one came back to him in that moment. Not only had Naruto done amazing that day, but Sakura had watched it all herself, and on top of that, she complimented him on it afterwards. As he began to walk back towards his apartment he began to think, _'Could this day get any better?'_

_'Yes it sure can!' _Naruto shouted inwardly in front of the paper listed on the door leading into the soccer academy. Towards the bottom of the list, below the name Sasuke Uchiha, was Naruto Uzumaki, he had done what others would have thought hard to believe just weeks ago, Naruto had made it past the first day at the academy, and in fantastic fashion. "Guess who is treating themselves to ramen?" Naruto said to himself walking away with a happy expression on his face and his hands behind his head.

**(A) **** In soccer, being flat footed means that you aren't ready to react, or that you aren't on your toes. It just means you aren't prepared for what is about to happen.**

**A/N: How was it? Not bad if I do say so myself! I had a hard time thinking of how Shino would play soccer, seeing as his fighting specialty is manipulating bugs, so I made his play style "manipulating" his teammates by telling them what to do, just like he does with his bugs! Then there is the return of the current antagonist, Aoto, and while his part was short today, he could be back again next chapter ;) You guys get a little NaruSaku friendship backstory, just like you got the NaruSasu friendship backstory last chapter, but this is a lot more in depth because it will be a basis for Sakura and Naruto's developing relationship as I think it will have more depth than Naruto and Sasuke's will in this story, at least I think so, as I haven't really thought that far ahead :P**

**Holy crabcakes, its 2 in the morning on a Thursday night and I am touching this up for you all, whew, good thing I have no school tomorrow! Hope you all have a happy Easter, if you celebrate of course, if not have a fan-tabu-fucking-lastic weekend! And be prepared for Day 2 of Academy Entrance Scrimmages in the next chapter, and a little hinty-spoilery-hint, guess what attacking pair will be on the same team? The pairing sounds similar to Saruto and Nasuke…See you all next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4: Team Work

**A/N: What's up awesome people? Chapter 3 was only the opening act for this chapter, the main event! Hope it lives up to your desires! Enjoy it.**

**Chapter 4: Team Work**

Sakura sat at the same bench, in the same spot, at almost the same time as the last time Sasuke denied her request to do something. _'The only thing that is different about this time is that Naruto isn't here…'_ she sat straight up in response to her thoughts, _'Wait, why am I thinking of that baka?!' _She sighed and sank back down in her seat wondering if she should just give up on the whole Sasuke idea anyway, but then she was reminded of what Ino would do if she had no real competition, and she just couldn't allow that to be the case. Sakura then shrugged off the subject entirely from her mind. She didn't want to over think something as simple as rejection, but this was no ordinary person that was rejecting her, it was the illustrious Uchiha after all. Still, she just tried to make herself think in a positive light. She looked up for the first time only to see a young, knucklehead blond walking down the street parallel to her with his hands behind his head and a satisfied grin on his face, 'Looks like someone got their ramen fill for the day.' she thought, letting a soft smile come to her lips.

Naruto awoke the next morning beaming with excitement, he had set his alarm a little earlier this time just to make sure that he would wake up and not be late for such an important day, but he didn't need it. Actually, he woke up 20 minutes before his alarm was meant to go off, giving him more than enough time to get ready and prepare himself mentally for the work ahead. He still followed the same morning routine as he had done the day before, ramen and all, but this time with more of a confident feel to him, rather than a timid and groggy one. After he had finished and gotten ready, he decided that maybe it would be a good idea to arrive early for once. So he grabbed his ball and special boots and proceeded to the academy. Just as he was about to reach his destination, he saw a boy lazily making his way towards the academy as well, looking up and staring at the clouds as he walked. "Hey, Shikamaru!" Naruto picked up his pace as he shouted towards the Nara boy, "You ready for today or what?" Shikamaru just glanced at him out of the corner of his eye as he continued to look up at the sky, "Eh. Sure, I guess." Naruto was always unimpressed by the lazy attitude of Shikamaru, "Well, I mean today is a big day, we finally get the chance to go into the soccer academy," Naruto replied. Shikamaru then discontinued his upward gaze and fixated it on the boy, "It's all just troublesome if you ask me." As the two reached the check-in desk Naruto shouted, "Everything is troublesome to you, you lazy asshole!" Shikamaru just sighed and just focused on the person at the desk in front of him. Naruto then stepped up to the desk and gave the man behind it a big grin, "Naruto Uzumaki, mister!" The man then checked off the name off of the sheet and handed the boy a card, "On that card is your team and number, make sure once you get out on the field that you grab the appropriate jersey. Good luck, kid" Naruto looked down at the card:

**White #9**

was the only thing that was written on it. He looked back up at the man, told him thanks, and jogged off to the locker room.

Naruto put on his practice attire and walked onto the practice field, once he got there he was met by his teacher from yesterday, "Oh, hey Iruka-sensei!" Iruka gave Naruto a warm, soft smile, "Hey, Naruto! Are you ready for today?" Naruto just grinned and rubbed the back of his head, "Of course I am, Iruka-sensei! Believe it!" Iruka just chuckled, "Well alright, today is a little different though, today we will actually be playing the game on the actual field, not on this smaller practice one. The entrance is just over there." Iruka pointed just to Naruto's right at a large door. Naruto's grin got bigger at the thought of getting to play on the actual field of the academy, and started to run over towards the door when he turned to Iruka and thanked him for pointing him in the right direction. Once Naruto got to the doors he didn't hesitate to open them, but once he did he was left astonished. The field was considered the nicest one in Konohagakure, next to the one that the Konoha 11 played in of course.

The grass was perfectly mowed down and was styled so that it left a circular pattern **(A), **there were stands that filled one sideline and the other had fancy benches for the teams to sit in and a banner hung from the rafters with the leaf symbol on it, as well as the team name next to it. The area was very spacious, and every color stood out from the one next to it, it gave the feel of a real professional stadium, but on a much smaller scale. At the time Naruto had entered, there were only a handful of kids there for the day, Naruto could only recall a few as most of the kids he didn't really know very well, Shikamaru and Rock Lee were the only ones that he could pick out though. "Oi, Naruto! Over here!" Rock Lee was shouting at the blond and jumping up and down in exuberant fashion, Naruto just sighed and walked over. He then just passed the ball with Lee waiting for the instructor and coach to start the final scrimmage of tryouts before the academy team was finalized. The two boys, along with Shikamaru, discussed and exchanged cards, trying to figure out who was on their teams. As it turned out, Shikamaru and Lee were both on the green team, Shikamaru with the number 4 and Lee with the number 8. As more and more people came in, the kids become more and more curious as to whom their teammates would be. Choji was the goalie for the white team, Kiba was on green, Neji was on green, and so was Shino, apart from Choji, Naruto didn't really have anyone that he knew on his team, he even heard some kid talking to Aoto saying that he wanted to be on the same team as him, but he was on the white team. That was when someone came from the doors and began walking onto the field. Sasuke Uchiha had walked over towards Neji and Shikamaru, and Naruto had his back turned, but was trying to listen to what they were saying, "Hey, Sasuke. What team are you on?" the voice came from none of the 3 boys, but rather from Kiba, who had rushed over there when he saw Sasuke approach. Naruto then turned around wanting to hear as clearly as possible what team Sasuke was on, but just as he saw Sasuke open his mouth, a whistle was then heard throughout the field. All of the boys quit what they were doing to look over to where it had come from, again it was Iruka, but this time he had alongside him two other men.

All the young players gathered around the three, "Alright everyone, I am going to start off by congratulating everyone on their efforts yesterday. I think all of you deserve a spot on this team, but unfortunately that can't happen, which is why we are here today. Today we will be playing a full game with only a few subs for each team and I and my two helpers here will be grading you on your abilities, but before we start I figured these two would like to introduce themselves." The person on Iruka's right wore a mask that covered a good portion of his face, his hair was a gray-silver color and was spiked towards his right side and his left eye had a large cut on it, as well as that eye was a reddish color. The man also held an orange book in his hand that had a girl being chased by a guy on the front cover, "Well hi there, my name is..."

One of the boys immediately spoke up, "Wait, you're Kakashi Hatake, the forward for the Konoha 11!" Kakashi just rubbed the back of his head like he did every time when someone talked about him being a famous player, "Yep. That's the one," he replied. The same boy then turned to the man on Iruka's left, the man had black, short and spiky hair and a tan complexion. He had a thick beard and a cigarette in his mouth, "That makes you Asuma Sarutobi, the defensive midfielder!" Asuma just chuckled at the boy, "Right you are kid," he said with the cigarette moving along with each word.

Iruka just let out a sigh at the fact that they hadn't given him the same type of treatment yesterday, "Anyway," Iruka started, interrupting some of the kid's whispers, "we are going to go ahead and get started now, over here next to Kakashi are the jerseys for the white team," Iruka pointed to a box that lay at the feet of the silver-haired forward, "and next to Asuma is the box of jerseys for the green team. Make sure that you grab the righ…" but by then most of the boys had run over and started grabbing jerseys and throwing over the ones that weren't there, Naruto and most of his friends, besides Lee, just waited until the crowd had passed before they moved.

Naruto then saw a large green number 9 on the back of a white jersey fly towards him. The jersey landed at this feet and he just stared at it for a moment before he took off his practice shirt and put it on. It was a perfect fit. Sasuke was the last one of the group to get a jersey, and everyone watched wondering which team he was on. That was when the Uchiha realized he was being watched and let out a "Hn," before looking at his card then walking towards the box of his team. He walked down the middle between the three Konoha 11 players, before he finally veered to his side and grabbed the number 10 jersey, the white one that is.

When everybody got their jerseys the two teams split and went to opposite sides of the field, Kakashi took the white team, and Asuma took the green team. Once they were all situated Kakashi and Asuma went over the basic rules of their formations, on Asuma's side everyone understood the plan without any faults, taking everything in on the first run through, on Kakashi's side however... "Kakashi-sensei, why can't we just hurry up and do this already?!" Kakashi just stared at the boy and sighed, _'He could've at least got his father's intellect.' _he thought. "We will get there Naruto, but this is important, if you just act on your own and don't understand the movements of your teammates around you then the likelihood of your team getting any chance to score is essentially 0." Naruto just let out a grunt and crossed his arms across his chest and let the masked-player continue with his run through of the formation and tactics.

When he finished Kakashi added, "After yesterday's scrimmage, Iruka gave me a little sheet that told me which one of you would be good in which position," Naruto perked up at this, hoping that he would be one of the one's to start, "he said that there are only two spots where the players are already decided as to where they should go, the rest can be random. Anyway, the only two that are automatically on the field are you two," Kakashi then gestured towards Naruto and Sasuke who had apparently been standing by one another the whole time, when the two noticed this they made eye contact, but then turned their heads away from one another in an annoyed manner, "You two will be playing up top together." '_Together?!'_ "You want me to play up top with him?!" Naruto shouted. "Just shut up already." Sasuke retorted, annoyed with Naruto's whining. "Quit trying to be so damn cool for once, teme!" Sasuke just gave Naruto a cold look after his dumb spouting, Kakashi just sighed again, and thought,_ 'This sure brings back memories.'_ Naruto continued to glare at Sasuke until everyone was told their positions and they were about to set up and start.

As they walked up to the halfway line to kickoff, Sasuke looked over to Naruto, "If you get in my way, I will kill you, got it?" His look was cold, but Naruto wasn't one to take Sasuke seriously, "Whatever! I should be telling you the same thing." Their bickering ended once Naruto reached the ball at the kickoff spot, and Sasuke stood next to him ready to receive the opening touch and start the game. Naruto then turned his head around and saw that the stands were filled this time, a lot of villagers came to watch as well as parents, friends and of course the Sasuke fangirls. Naruto looked through them to see if he could find Sakura, but she wasn't to be seen. Disappointed, he then looked through the rest of the people and could make out a pink head of hair setting next to a girl with long blond hair. Naruto just smiled at her and could've sworn he saw the smile returned.

Iruka stood out of bounds but at midfield and blew the whistle, Naruto rolled the ball to Sasuke who took the ball forward, attacking the opposition from the start, _'He is going to try and be cool already? Asshole.' _Naruto thought watching Sasuke take the ball forward. Their team began to push up the field as Sasuke beat player after player before seeing it would be smarter to get rid of the ball and passing it backwards to a teammate. Naruto was positioned on the left side of the field and was a little distant from Sasuke, the ball fell to Naruto and he settled it at his feet and began to attack the opposing defense, Sasuke made his run without saying a word and cut the defense, as Naruto watched Sasuke make his run he saw the lane for the pass, but opted against it and instead dribbled the ball the opposite Naruto ignoring his pass, Sasuke just growled at Naruto's stupidity and foolishness and watched as Naruto then got caught by Shikamaru and had the ball stolen from him. Shikamaru lazily gave the ball to Neji, who then carried the ball and gave it up to Lee, who found space and penetrated the white team's defense. Neji came up on Lee's left side and with a simple through pass, gave Neji the ball and he tapped it in from there.

1-0 to the green team.

Naruto angrily barked at his team, "Come on guys, make a tackle! That was way too easy!" Sasuke turned to the Uzumaki, "You know, that wouldn't have happened had you just played me that pass." This caused Naruto to tighten his fist, "And maybe if you weren't such a smug dickhead…," Naruto's voice was cut off by his new coach, "Naruto, come over here for a second," the professional forward waved for Naruto to come over and Naruto jogged over, glaring at Sasuke over his shoulder. "Naruto, Sasuke was wide open, why didn't you make that pass?" Naruto just looked at the ground, "Kakashi-sensei, I.." Naruto then looked to see Kakashi looking at him, "Naruto look, I get you and Sasuke have some sort of feud going on between one another, but if you let that effect the way you play then I can tell you that you will never make it into the academy." This made Naruto's eyes widen in fear, "The most important thing in this sport is team work and that is what separates the amateurs from the professionals. Did you notice that even Sasuke passed the ball?" Naruto remembered and realized he was right, he saw Sasuke as a selfish player, but even he gave up the ball sometimes, "Naruto, you have talent, I knew that from the moment you stepped in here, but you aren't going to go anywhere if you can't learn to play with your team mates, no matter how much you don't like them." Naruto just nodded and gave a small smirk, "You got it. Thanks Kakashi-sensei." Naruto then turned and jogged back towards the center where they were waiting for him so that they could restart, _'Now that really brought back memories.' _thought Kakashi as he watched as his team kicked off once again.

The boys kicked off again and Sasuke did the same thing as last time, but attacking the opposite side instead. Sasuke's speed was just too much for the other team to handle and he tore through their midfield but was slowed by the positioning of Shikamaru. Seeing that he wasn't going to get much farther at the tempo he wanted to, he turned the ball and his body away from goal and towards the rest of his team; he passed the ball back and positioned himself next to the opposing defenders. Naruto watched as the ball swung around the midfield and came to him. Once Naruto got the ball, Sasuke made a similar run to the one he made last time. The hole in the defense opened up, and Naruto was about to make the pass when he was hit hard from the side, Naruto rolled, but got up quickly and pursued the person who hadn't taken the ball off of him with a cheap shot. The boy was slow and Naruto was able to catch up with him, when Naruto saw who it was he should've known. He then nudged the kid off of the ball and knocked him to the ground, the ball rolled to Naruto's team and they started over. Naruto looked at the boy on the ground, "Whoops, sorry I just came in a little late on that tackle," Naruto just smirked and stuck his tongue out at Aoto.

Revenge felt nice.

The white team was working the ball well, Naruto and Sasuke each had a couple of times on the ball, but they were short lived because of the pressure the green team's defense gave them, this especially gave Naruto a hard time as his first touch wasn't the best, but he still managed to pass the ball off. Sasuke got the ball around the midfield area and sprinted with it towards the corner flag. Naruto was waiting idly around the top of the box, hoping for the ball to come to him, when he saw an opening at the back post. "Sasuke!" Naruto shouted as he ran towards the gap, Sasuke saw what he was doing and was able to fool the defender in front of him and make the long pass. The ball curved in the air so that it fell perfectly to Naruto, but the ball looked as if it was too high and he wasn't going to get to it. All he could do was jump and try and use his head to direct it on frame, so he bent his knees and pushed his body up off the ground. His jump made him tower over the opposing defender and he was just able to reach the ball. The pass was fast enough that all Naruto had to do was direct it on frame, so as Naruto hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity, he directed the ball out of the keeper's reach and into the net.

The game was now tied at 1-1.

The crowd cheered at the great teamwork the kids showed and also at Naruto's crazy jump. It seemed that he had almost jumped over the defender in front of him, and it wasn't like the defender was very short either. Naruto just looked at Sasuke and they both seemed to realize what they had just done was pretty good and Sasuke just gave him a quick look before going back to his position. Naruto then turned to Kakashi who was smirking under his mask, and Naruto gave him a thumb up and a smile, and last but not least, Naruto turned to Sakura who was clapping and smiling, the two made eye contact and Naruto could feel his cheeks get hot, this just made Sakura chuckle quietly.

Both teams tried to get through each other's defense but nobody could get very far, even Sasuke was having trouble. The game was even and eventually just turned into a game of possession in which each team would hold onto the ball for a while and try and wear out the other team so that they got lazy, but that wasn't working. Halftime was called and the boys took a break and some changes were made to the lineups, Naruto and Sasuke still remained up top and most of the green team was the same as well, except for Shino who replaced a boy in the midfield. The game restarted with the green team in possession, and they attacked the white team's defense only for the ball to get stolen and come the other way. The game had changed pace and was now rather slow and tactical, which isn't how Naruto played. Naruto kept trying to make run after run, but the ball never came and he was just wearing himself out.

Eventually, the ball fell to Naruto who took the ball in stride and tried to work his way towards goal. One of his teammates from the midfield checked to the ball and Naruto gave him a quick pass, he then turned and passed it off to Sasuke. Naruto was realizing that his runs weren't really working and that he had to try and get creative, but of course Naruto's idea of creative is a straight line and he ran and it seemed that this run would be another pointless one, had it not been from a stroke of pure genius from his strike partner. Sasuke had the ball on the opposite side of Naruto and was being closed down by Kiba, and before Kiba could get too close to him, Sasuke actually came at him. With the slightest of touches with the outside of his right foot, Sasuke was able to put the ball through the legs of the Inuzuka and get into space, this is when he saw Naruto making his run, and while Naruto wasn't the creative type, Sasuke was. Again with the outside of his foot, he curved the ball so it bent to the right as it traveled on the ground and it landed square at Naruto's feet in a perfect attacking position.

Naruto was there, he was through on goal.

The goalie stood square in the center of the goal, knees bent, ready to dive whichever way Naruto decided to go. Naruto saw the goalie prepared and noticed Sasuke was a little behind him to his left if he wanted to slide the ball to him. Naruto's touches on the ball were delicate and precise, something that Naruto wasn't usually able to accomplish. His mind was conflicted between being selfish and going for goal, or repaying Sasuke for the assist he had given him earlier, but noticing that the keeper was now coming at him and closing down fast, Naruto had to make a choice.

He began to lay off the pass when he was hit from behind. He rolled to the ground and let out a scream of pain, as he rolled he grabbed onto the lower part of his knee. Somebody was standing over him as he squirmed on the ground, "Awe, I'm sorry. Paybacks a bitch though, ain't it Uzumaki?" Aoto had hit Naruto with a slide tackle from behind with his cleat up in the air, hitting the back of Naruto's knee at full force. Naruto's body was too busy responding to the pain that was in his knee for him to realize who was speaking to him or that someone was even saying something. As Naruto lay on the ground on the verge of tears, Iruka, Asuma and Kakashi rushed over to him, "Naruto are you all right?" asked Iruka in a rather frantic manner. Naruto didn't say a word, but moved so that he was now laying on his back with his knee up, he removed his hands from his knee for them to see. "That is not good," stated Asuma as he looked at the boy's, now really swollen, knee. "We need to get a medic team out here now," said Kakashi, "I'm on it," Iruka sprang from Naruto's side and towards the medical area. After a minute or two a crew of medics came onto the field and took Naruto off in a stretcher.

'_No. No. This can't be happening…'_

**(A) - Circular patterns on a soccer field just indicate the way the grass is cut. If you want an example, the San Siro is one.**

**A/N: Aweeeee shit! You guys didn't see that coming did you? There aren't many ways to make a story about soccer tense or suspenseful, but I think I got it. Aoto is such a dick, I actually got a little angry writing that part out xP **

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed Chapter 4, NaruSaku will be developing slowly, but surely for all of you who are in to this for that, but just remember that it isn't the main point of this story. I only am going to put it in here because I am a NaruSaku fan myself and want my first fan fic to have everything I want it. **

**Thanks for sticking around and reading and hope you will come back for Chapter 5! No hints or teasers this time. See you later!**


	5. Chapter 5: Recovery

**A/N: WOW! The last chapter release brought in the most viewership that this book has seen so far! Thank you all so much for your support so far, it means the world to me. **

**Shout out again to ****Key and Lock****, she seems to be my biggest fan, leaving a review on every chapter as she reads them. I love reading your reviews they are very responsive and well written, keep it up! I suggest to the rest of you to be more like her ;)**

**Also, thank you to all my new followers and favoriters, thank you so much. I love seeing a new one of those every time I check up on the story. **

**So, enough with the boring thank yous and stuff, here is Chapter 5! Enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Recovery**

(These next lines will be everyone's reaction to Naruto's injury)

**The Crowd:** "The Uzumaki boy is going to score!" one man said, standing up from his seat as he watched along with the others. "Pass it to Sasuke!" a girl from the Sasuke fan girl section shouted, "Shoot the ball, kid!" another man shouted. They all stood up as the boy stretched his leg back to either shoot or pass. They were getting ready to react to either a goal or an assist from the blond, some even started to cheer in excitement, but then there was silence. One girl shrieked as she watched Naruto roll to the ground and hold his knee. "Oh my word, someone get a medic!" "Is that boy,ok? That was some hit he took…"

**Kiba: **_'God dammit, how did Sasuke get passed me like that?! They better not score! I need to hurry up and get bac…'_ Kiba couldn't finish his thoughts. He just watched Naruto fall to the ground and stopped moving.

**Sasuke**: _'Don't screw this up, Naruto. I know you notice me running in. Just be smart and pa… … …'_

**Shikamaru**: _'Naruto and Sasuke are too unpredictable together! No wonder I can't think of a plan quick enough! We just have to...'_ Shikamaru's eyes widened and then his insides lurched, if anyone had the best angle of the tackle, it was him. _'Naruto…his knee. What happened to it? Its …'_

**Ino: **'_Oh Sasuke, that was so cool! I hope Naruto doesn't mess this up, that damn…_*gasp_*…is Naruto ok?! Oh my Kami, what just happened?!'_

**Sakura: **_'Naruto and Sasuke are really a good duo, Sasuke's intelligence and skill, and Naruto's… well Naruto has something, but whatever he has it makes the two of them almost unbeatable. Oh! Naruto, come on, score, pass, something!'_ As Sakura watched Naruto fall to the ground, her body froze. She tensed up and her heart started to beat fast, _'Naruto…NARUTO! Get up! Please get up!'_ When she heard Naruto scream, it seemed that something inside her burst, she began to feel tears sting her eyes. _'No…no…this is not happening to him, please be nothing serious. Naruto will recover faster than anyone I have ever seen, just like always. He will get up, I just know it.' _At this point, the stretcher and medical staff had already gone out to treat him, when they picked him up and put him on the stretcher, she could make out a gleam in Naruto's eye, so faint, so subtle from a distance. It was a single tear. She watched as it strolled down his face, and in turn, she felt them roll down hers.

* * *

Naruto looked up at the ceiling in the little hospital room he was in, he then looked down at his lower half. His leg was being held up by a holder that was suspended from the ceiling, and it was wrapped up, until it reached above his knee. There was also a cast on top that fit his leg and angled it, so that his leg wasn't completely straight. The doctors couldn't tell Naruto much yet since they hadn't gotten his MRI back. _'This can't be it. That fucking Aoto. What is his deal with me anyway?'_ Naruto just sighed at his anger filled thoughts and looked out the window of his hospital room. The day was reaching its end, the sky was becoming a darker shade of blue by the minute and the sun was beginning to appear an orange color. He could only see the tops and mid-sections of the buildings across the street, but could hear the bustling people that were still walking down the road down below him. That was when there was a knock on the door, Naruto turned his gaze from the window to the door, _'I hope it's not the doctor again, I don't even know if I want to hear the results now,' _but instead of the doctor, it was a boy that was no taller than Naruto with dark hair and cold black eyes, but for the first time, Naruto didn't see them as cold, but they seemed, worried. Of course, it was only as much worry as an emotionless person like Sasuke could show, but it was something, and it made Naruto wonder, _'Is Sasuke actually worried about me?'_ Sasuke then was standing there in the middle of the room, in between the door and the hospital bed, his eyes seemed to pierce Naruto as he stared at him, "What do you want?" Sasuke didn't reply, but just turned his eyes to the leg that was hoisted up in the air. "You just come in here to stare at my leg and leave or what?" Naruto replied, somewhat annoyed at the fact that Sasuke wasn't saying much. "Hn," was all he said as he then turned around and seemed to be about to leave, "You made it," Sasuke's tone was monotonous and seemingly brash. Naruto just looked at the boy, "What do you mean I made it, teme?" Naruto's voice on the other hand seemed full of irritation at the Uchiha for saying nothing and then telling him that, but that was just how he felt he should talk to Sasuke, after all. In reality though, his voice was full of curiosity at his words, _'I made it? What does he mean?'_ Sasuke then turned around, "You know you are the biggest idiot right? What do you think I'm talking about?" That was when it finally dawned on him, _'He is talking about the academy team isn't he?...I made the team.'_ Naruto was now in shock, _'Despite all this, I still made it? But how?'_ Naruto felt a rush of emotions overtake him. Excitement, pain, happiness, more pain, and cheerfulness, but the one that overpowered it all was worry. Naruto couldn't help but worry that the determination he had and the effort he put in would be for nothing that this wasn't the beginning, but the end. As Naruto pondered in thought, Sasuke grew impatient, "I'm going now." and walked towards the door again, it was when he touched the handle that he heard Naruto speak up, "Hold on. Why did you tell me that and not someone else?" Sasuke turned around for the second time and faced Naruto, he remembered the conversation he had with Kakashi-sensei earlier:

**FLASHBACK**

Sasuke walked towards the locker room after the scrimmage was over. Naruto's injury had brought the game to a stop for a while, and even when it started back up, everyone seemed a little off. He turned the corner and sat in front of the locker that held his clothes and changed out of his uniform and put on his normal street clothes. Once he had everything and was ready to leave, he made his way to the exit. Normally, he would be spotted by a bunch of his fan girls as he walked out, but when he stepped outside, there was no one there. Confused, but somewhat relieved, Sasuke kept walking towards his house, but before he could make it very far, he was stopped. "There you are Sasuke, I figured you'd be going this way," the silver haired forward and coach was smiling beneath his mask as he looked down at the Uchiha, "What do you want?" Sasuke replied. _'I knew that he was cold-hearted, but this is something else,' _Kakashi thought, "Oh, well I actually have a request for you," Kakashi then pulled a piece of paper and gave it to Sasuke. Sasuke looked at it tentatively for a second, as if not sure what to make of it, "This is the sheet of players who made to the academy team, isn't it?" he gave a quick look at the tall pro, "Sure is," he replied, "We had this made yesterday, but we were going to adjust it if there was anyone who performed a lot better than they thought we would. That didn't happen though." Sasuke then looked over the names. He saw Neji, Choji, Shikamaru, Shino, and Lee, there was no Aoto either, which was a relief to Sasuke; he was rather annoying and was never good at the game anyway. At the bottom of the sheet though, was Sasuke's name, which was no surprise to him, but the name below him surprised him, but didn't at the same time. Kakashi must have noticed that he saw the name that he wanted to address him about and spoke up, "Do you see understand what I would like you to do?" Sasuke kept looking at the name that was below his, _Naruto Uzumaki_. Sasuke let out a "Hn," took the piece of paper with him, and without looking back, turned towards the hospital.

**END FLASHBACK**

"Kakashi-sensei wanted me to tell you," was all that Sasuke felt was necessary to reply. Then as Sasuke was getting ready to leave once more, the door knob turned. "Naruto, can I come in?" Sakura glanced in the room to see Sasuke standing in front of her, she blushed a little, "Oh, hi Sasuke-kun." Sasuke just looked at her for a brief minute before walking past her, "I'll leave you two now," and he walked out the door, closing it quietly behind him. Naruto noticed that when Sasuke left, Sakura seemed rather unfazed, 'That's odd, usually she would be upset by him leaving and not acknowledging her very much.' Naruto then realized that Sakura was staring at him with her large emerald green eyes, 'Kami, those eyes are so beautiful, I could just…' That was when he noticed a tear starting to well up in the pit of her eye, "Uh, Sakura, are you ok?" She wiped the incoming tear quickly away from her eye, "Why are you asking me? I should be the one asking you." She looked at his leg that was suspended in the air, _'I feel so bad for him. I know that he was finally about to accomplish something that he had wanted to for the longest time. It's just not fair.'_ she kept looking at the leg for a while until she figured she was being rude. Sakura's arms were behind her back, holding a vase of flowers, a surprise get-well present from her. She didn't really know what drove her to pick it up on the way here but she did it anyway. She walked over to the wooden desk next to Naruto's bed and put the flowers on them. They were yellow daisies; a bright, yellow flower that lit up the whole room when she put them down. In Naruto's opinion though, the room lit up when she walked in. He couldn't help but keep staring at her. He thought everything about her was perfect; her long pink hair, her beautiful emerald eyes, her smile, everything. It was all so perfect. Sakura then had to ask the question that was on her mind since she had decided to walk over in the first place, "So, are you going to be ok?" she asked. Naruto just looked at her and held his gaze at her eyes, but felt that he couldn't look at her anymore and instead looked down at his sheets. He let out a deep breath, "I'm not sure what the actual problem is, but I will be all right, Sakura-chan, don't you worry!" Then Naruto had done something he hadn't done since he arrived at the hospital, he smiled. Sakura couldn't help but smile at the high spirited boy, _'There is that smile again. It is just so….uplifting! I only see it when he is with me though, I'm kind of glad actually, because it makes me feel happy every time I see it.'_ Sakura chuckled, "Well, I'm glad to hear that. I just came to make sure you were all right, I know you may not believe me, but everyone is worried about you, Naruto." Naruto was sort of taken aback when she said that, _'Everyone is worried….about me?'_ he admitted to himself that he was a little skeptical of what Sakura was saying, but she seemed to really mean it, so he continued to feel happier, "Well you can tell them they have nothing to worry about-attebayo!" He rubbed the back of his head and let out a chuckle. Sakura just laughed lightly, _'He may be a baka, but he is always so cheerful and caring, no matter what.' _She smiled, "I hope you feel better Naruto, I will see you later, ok?" Sakura turned to leave just like Sasuke did, "Wait, Sakura!" she did a quick turn on her heels to look at the blond, "If I have to stay in her for a while, will you visit me often?" Naruto looked as if he was alone, and a little desperate. Sakura knew that Naruto just wanted to see her more for obvious reasons too, but she had started to feel like she wanted to bond with him more and more, so she couldn't possibly deny, "Eh. Maybe." she then winked and stuck out a tongue before happily turning on her heels again to leave the room, "Wait, what?! Sakura-chan!"

* * *

**-A few weeks later (around a month to be exact)-**

Naruto was now reaching the final stages of his physical therapy. It turned out that Naruto suffered a Stage 2 ACL strain from the hit, and was said to be in the hospital for at least 3-4 months. Miraculously, Naruto's recovery was one of the fastest the medical staff had ever seen. After a week or so of therapy, his recovery speed made it so he was looking at only a month at the hospital. He was already near full strength when most patients would just now focus on walking. Sakura was visiting once every 2-3 days or so, and was bringing him the ramen he was craving so that he didn't have to eat the terrible hospital food all the time. They would talk about pointless things and then Naruto would bring up the fact that they were acting like a couple or something like that, which would result in him getting a smack from Sakura that left bruises and bumps, and then she would threaten that she would never visit him again. That's how it went most days. They would also just learn more and more about one another. They had really gotten close to each other, something neither of them had ever imagined would happen. Sasuke had actually come to visit once or twice, but his stays were always short lived and uneventful. Apart from, who Naruto considered, his two best friends, a lot of other people had come to stop by. Kakashi and Iruka-sensei stopped by on a little more than a week basis and talked with him about how he was doing with his recovery and the things he was missing with the academy team. On Iruka's first visit, he brought Naruto his official academy jersey. It was basically just a fancier version of the one he wore during the scrimmages, and it even still had the number 9 on it. Kakashi-sensei just talked with Naruto on small things, and he would always talk to Naruto while he read his little orange book, which Naruto discovered was entitled, Icha Icha Paradise. Naruto had no idea what it meant, but by the way Kakashi sometimes looked at the book, he assumed it to be rather interesting. On one of Kakashi's visits, Kakashi brought up the idea of him helping Naruto get back up to speed when he was out of the hospital, "You mean like train me?!" Naruto had asked excitedly, "Well, uh, yeah. I guess you can call it that." Kakashi replied, smiling with his eyes closed at the boy. Then, some of his other friends dropped by on occasion. Kiba, Choji, Lee and Shikamaru, all came by at least once, sometimes on their own, and sometimes as a duo or in the case of the first time, a trio. While Naruto never really thought about it, people were warming up to him. His simple display at the academy scrimmages really left an impact at everyone who had attended. There was something in his spirit of never giving up, or always trying his best and going through adversity everyday that made people see who the true Naruto really was. There was more to him than most kids had thought when he was just, "that one orphan boy," that their parents said they should try and stay away from. The true Naruto was a passionate and caring individual, not only towards the game of soccer, but towards others as well. The bonds he was making in this very moment would change the way the boy would like on life. Forever.

* * *

(This next section will be a passage from the diary of Sakura)

_Dear Diary,_

_Ever since the day a couple of weeks ago when Sasuke denied me for the umpteenth time, I have had this weird feeling about someone that I never thought I would before and I feel like it is finally time I write this all out and get my thoughts straight. Naruto Uzumaki. In the very beginning, around the time I became infatuated with Sasuke, I took notice of the little blond reject. Every time my friends and I saw him, they made fun of him, and sometimes even I would join in. I honestly had no idea why they were doing it, but I didn't want to be seen as the odd one out. That's actually kind of funny to me now that I think about it, because I was smart enough to realize that he was an outcast and stood out from the rest of us, so maybe that's why I joined in on making fun of him. I didn't want to end up like he did._

_Once we got a little older and went into school, I noticed him in a lot of my classes through the years. He was pulling a new prank on a teacher almost every day and getting in trouble, almost every day. I have to admit that I found the things he did quite amusing, but after a while, it just got boring and sad to watch happen all the time, and just became full-blown annoying, Then that is what he has a person had become to everyone. Annoying. He was just that one goofball who never had anything good to do or say, just was a fool. That's all I saw him as for a long time too. Until that incident. That day when he saved me from the kid in the shadows. Almost every night for a year or two after the incident I dreamed about it, and each time it ended with me being saved by Naruto in a different way, some really weird and some were even romantic in a way. After he saved me and I kissed him on the cheek, I realized what I had done and couldn't wrap my mind around why I did it and the feelings behind it. I thought maybe it was just another silly thing I did as a child, but the more and more I talk to Naruto nowadays, I feel that wasn't the case._

_Talking to Naruto is almost refreshing to me now. There is something about him that a normal person just doesn't bring to the conversation. It's probably the fact that everything he says is just really genuine. Every time he says something, no matter how stupid it is, I know it comes from the bottom of his heart. Unfortunately, he still needs to learn how to phrase some of the things he says, dumb baka. There is one problem that I have with Naruto, and I don't know if it is actually a real problem, or what it is, but it is kind of bothering me. Naruto is making me rethink how I feel about Sasuke. I can't believe I just wrote that down. For the past few years, I have done nothing but follow, no worship the ground Sasuke walks on, and try and show him my full, devotedness towards him, but it goes with no feedback every time. With Naruto though, I don't even have to do that, actually, he is the one doing it to me! I am finally on the receiving end of it, and I have to say. I love every bit of it. I hope that doesn't sound really sad and egotistical. Ok, so I just re-read the paragraph, and I can definitely say that it was egotistical, so I crossed it out and I can just pretend I never wrote that. Anyways, the way Naruto talks to me and everything, it is what I wish Sasuke would do for me, but the more and more I look at Naruto, the more and more I realize that I don't think Sasuke will ever do that for me. It hurts just to write that. Oh Kami, I'm crying again. Stupid boys. Why do they have to be so damn stupid? A girl's heart isn't that hard to understand is it? Ugh. I need sleep. I think I got enough off of my chest, and a good amount of things clear in my head for today at least. It's going to be another full day, going to see Naruto again too. I will make sure that I go into seeing him with the same thoughts that I wrote down here and see where that gets me, and maybe it will REALLY help me clear my head and get my feelings straight._

* * *

**A/N: First off as a just in case, this chapter takes place over Naruto's one month-ish stay in the hospital. Ok, you got that? You already knew that? Well I was just making sure. Anyway, this chapter is just kind of a transition chapter. Yeah, I guess you can call it that. I really like the Diary thingy I did at the end there. I thought it was pretty damn good for a guy, if I do say so myself. Anyway, yeah, NaruSaku is beginning and all that goodness. Also, I plan on doing some things similar to the actual Naruto storyline, it won't be like you are re-reading the manga or watching the anime all over again though (obviously, this is a Naruto soccer fan fiction), so don't worry. **

**Also, the team names will be starting to be decided on by me soon, and once I pick one, I don't plan on changing it, so if you have one that you can think of, or like from another story or something like that, please message me or leave it in a review. I love the attention the last chapter got, so let's see if we can beat the record that the last chapter set with this one!**

**Thanks for reading Chapter 5: Recovery and hopefully all the chapters in this story and I hope to see you in the next one!**


	6. Chapter 6: First Day Back

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANYTHING RELATING TO KISHIMOTO. IF I DID, I WOULDN'T BE WRITING THIS MEDIOCRITY AND INSTEAD MAKE IT REALITY.**

* * *

**A/N: So usually, I write these Author's Notes after I type the chapter, but I have a couple of things I need to address before I start. First of all, I want to thank EVERYBODY who read the last chapter, you guys blew the previous record out of the water! I was so surprised and happy with the turnout and am so glad that you guys enjoyed it. I also want to thank everybody who reviewed, that was the most reviews I have ever gotten after a chapter. I am glad to be getting feedback from you all, speaking of which…**

**It has come to my attention that my paragraphs are more like walls of text in some instances. I have gone back to all the chapters and at least tried to break up the ridiculously big ones, but from now on I will try and make sure that the text is divided up a lot better. Sorry if that has annoyed anyone so far, you can thank the reviewers who mentioned it. **

**I was also notified of a possible plot hole, or maybe it was just an explanation mistake. Now we all know that Minato is Naruto's dad (and if you don't then maybe you should hurry up and catch up. It has been like forever that it has been public) and that the reason he was bullied was because he had the Kyuubi inside of him. Well in this story, there is no Kyuubi. So that leads to two questions if you had no idea about the plot and read my story:**

**1. Does everyone know who Naruto's dad is? Or just a few?**

**2. Why is Naruto bullied?**

**Well I only intended the people close to Minato before his death to understand. I kind of messed that up by making Iruka realize it, but Kakashi knows because he trained under him (I may explain that in the story later). **

**Then, I said what I thought was good enough in Sakura's diary entry and in an earlier chapter, that Naruto is bulled because he was an orphan and just an annoying prankster that irritated most people. Which I think is a good enough reason for him to be seen as annoying and to be picked on, at least in the sense of why it happens.**

**So, I want to apologize if I lost anyone with those and especially want to thank ****theIrishWriter**** for asking about it. I hope I answered your question.**

**If there is anything else you all are confused about or anything you want to say, please review. It really helps getting feedback from everyone. **

**Enough with the overly long A/N. Here is Chapter 6! Enjoy.**

**Chapter**** 6:**** First Day Back**

_Knock Knock_

"Come in!" Naruto shouted from his hospital room.

He was sitting on the side of his bed putting on his shoes. The doctors were finally going to release him today and he was getting ready in anticipation.

Iruka opened the door and walked in with a sincere smile on his face, "Well, well, well. Look who is finally looking better again." Naruto just chuckled and rubbed the back of his head and continued to finish getting ready to leave.

"Must feel good to finally be getting out of here, huh? No more physical therapy, no more annoying tests, and no more hospital food," Iruka then had an idea, "Hey Naruto, speaking of food, how about we go over to Ichiraku's? My treat."

Naruto's bright blue eyes widened and his smirk that he had on turned in to a full blown grin, "Really, Iruka-sensei?! I have been craving Ichiraku Ramen so much! Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Naruto then grabbed Iruka by the wrist and ran out the room, "Wait, Naruto! Don't you still have to check out, AGH!"

* * *

_SLURP! _

"Ahhh. More Please!" Naruto shouted holding up his bowl for the third time that day. "Naruto, maybe you should slow down, you are going to hurt yourself if you keep eating that fast." Iruka just smiled again at the boy, it appeared there was no stopping him from eating his ramen.

As Iruka watched the blond knucklehead eat, he remembered that he brought a piece of paper that he wanted to show him, "Naruto," Iruka said, "here. I want you to take a look at this."

Naruto then stopped his vicious slurping and took the paper out of Iruka's hand. The paper was folded a few times, so Naruto unfolded it, and looked at it with eyes full of curiousity. When he finally opened it, he scanned a couple lines. They were a list of names, some names he was familiar with, others he wasn't.

"Iruka-sensei, what is this?" He asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"That is the academy team roster," Iruka looked at the piece of paper with him, and pointed to a line near the bottom, "See. There is you and Sasuke."

Naruto quickly then scrolled through the names on the sheet. There was Choji, Shino, Kiba, Rock Lee, Neji, Shikamaru and Sasuke, but he was looking for a different name. After not finding who he was looking for, he glanced up at his coach and teacher, "Ummm, so…what happened to ugh…Aoto?" Naruto then looked down at the sheet with his head hung low, saddened at the memory that had set him back and caused him to miss the first month of training.

"Well, after the incident we told him to pack his bags and go home," Iruka stated his eyes showed that he was very serious about the subject, "Anyone who has that cruel of intent to a fellow teammate, whether he is scrimmaging against him or not, doesn't deserve to be anywhere near the academy team." Naruto just smiled at Iruka's comment. It felt like he was sticking up for him, something Naruto never really had until recently. He never ceased to cherish the treatment whenever he got it, in fear that it might not happen again.

"How about we go visit your new team, eh Naruto? It is about time that training is wrapping up for the day." Naruto finished the remaining food he had in his bowl in one big, clean motion and slapped the bowl down on the table, "Sounds like a plan!"

Naruto gave his famous big grin and exited the stand while Iruka paid. Together, they walked towards the academy, which wasn't very far away from where they were just at.

Upon entering, Iruka and Naruto both were greeted the lady that was now at the front desk, and continued on towards the locker room. Everyone directed their glances away from what they were doing and looked towards the door frame that Iruka and Naruto stood under once they entered.

"Naruto! Wow! Aren't you looking better!" Choji shouted while snacking on a bag of chips.

Naruto just rubbed the back of his head again and smiled, a little embarrassed at being the center of everyone's attention.

"I hope you all haven't forgotten about your fellow teammate here! Naruto will begin training with us again in about a week or so, just in time to get ready for our first game against the Kirigakure academy. So, I figured now would be a great time for everyone to introduce themselves to Naruto who hasn't already." Iruka gave a reaffirming pat on the back to him, giving him the reassurance that everyone was on his side.

Then a boy with spiky brown hair walked up to him and stuck out his hand, "Oi! Hi there, my name is Ryko Maru." The boy talked with charisma and confidence that would make any guy feel a little jealous. His eyes were a piercing bright blue, a much lighter shade than Naruto's though. His body was fairly toned, but was still on the skinny side.

Again, out of embarrassment, Naruto rubbed the back of his head and grasped his hand and chuckled, "Well thanks, eh…Ryko." Ryko just gave a soft smile and walked off.

Then after he walked off, two more boys came up to him,

"Naruto! You sure gave us a scare!" said the first boy.

"Yeah! We were all worried about how you were, are you feeling better?" said the second one, basically carrying on what the first one said.

They both looked almost identical to each other, black hair that curved to the right side of their faces and they were rather large in stature. Not only were they completely built, but they also towered over Naruto in height as well. The only difference in appearance between the two was that the first one had a scar across his right cheek. They both wore dark green t-shirts and khaki brown pants and had smiles that a brute would have, one that stretched from ear to ear, and exposed almost all of their teeth.

"Ah, Naruto," Iruka spoke up from behind him, "these are the Kobayashi twins, Satoyuki," he motioned towards the first boy, "and Sakutarou," the second boy. "They are originally from Sunagakure, but they moved here a short while ago."

Naruto just stared up at them, almost frightened by them, but their smiles and positioning made him realize that they were more like big stuffed animals, rather than scary giants. "I'm fine guys, don't worry about me. I will be back in no time-dattebayo!" He then gave a big thumbs up which made the twins laugh in a deep tone.

They then continued on with what they were doing and then, one by one, the rest of the team came up to him and showed their concern for him, wondering when he would be back, or asking if he was ok, or if his knee still hurt. The main thing that they all had in common though, was that they all cared. Every single person that Naruto didn't even know cared about him. They cared about his health and cared about him being out there as one of them, as their teammate. What more could Naruto ask for from these people? It really was a change for Naruto, and a great one at that.

* * *

When everyone was done talking with Naruto, he wished everyone goodbye and continued home for the first time since his injury. _'I can't wait to get home and just lay on my soft, comfy…'_

"Naruto!" A voice shouted from behind him, whoever it was, was clearly a little angry.

Then Naruto turned around to see Sakura stomping towards him, something had obviously made her angry.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, what's the matter?" Naruto said somewhat confused at the girl's rage.

"What's the matter, huh?" she said now two inches in front of Naruto's face. Her voice then grew into a shout, "Well, I just spent an hour searching around this damn village after I saw that you weren't at the hospital like you said you would be you stupid baka!" She then gave Naruto a fierce punch in the back of the hand, sending the boy to the ground, holding the back of his head in pain.

"Ahh! Sakura-chan, I'm sorry, it was just that Iruka-sensei…" Naruto tried to explain, but Sakura immediately picked him up off the ground by his collar.

"Don't you '_Sakura-chan' _me! I had told you yesterday when I was coming back and that maybe you, Sasuke-kun, and I could try and go get lunch after you were out, and Sasuke-kun had finished training, but some baka just _HAD_ to forget!" She was getting red in the face from all of her shouting. She then dropped Naruto down from her grasp, causing him to sprawl out onto the ground again and watch as she walked away.

"Ah, Sakura-chan! Wait!" Naruto tried to stop her, but at that point she was long gone. He just let out a sigh, got off the ground, and continued on home, rubbing his throbbing head along the way.

* * *

**(Between one and two week timeskip)**

Naruto sat in the locker room alone before his first training session began. He tied up his boots and walked over towards the door that led to the field. Due to his injury, he was only to participate in non-contact drills, in case he was still susceptible to injuring his knee again.

As he walked over towards the field, he let out a deep breath of contentment. He gazed out at the practice field that he had begun to make a name for himself within the academy at, and took it all in as if he was reliving his first appearance there all over again. He then rolled his ball at his feet, and jogged over to where the rest of his team was located.

It was a rather easy day for the academy team, full of simple passing and tactical drills. Naruto was a little rusty, but he wasn't as bad as he expected. Of course, no matter how much he has improved, he is still the same old Naruto, and did make a fool of himself once or twice.

"Alright everybody, I understand that we still have a couple more training sessions before our first match, but I want to start and give you all a run down now as to how we will approach the game." Iruka had gathered the kids around him and reached for a drawing board that was on the ground. A set of Xs and Os littered the board; clearly he had been studying the best way for his team to approach the next game. He then began to write some names beside each O. On the board, the Os were set in a distinct, basic formation and had lines that extended off of some of them.

"Alright guys, so I have already told you guys what the formation will be and who will go where, but I will run through this quickly for Naruto's sake," Iruka then glanced up at Naruto who was gazing at the ceiling.

"NARUTO! Pay attention!" Iruka's shout started Naruto, almost causing him to lose his sense of balance. Then he directed his gaze towards his coach, "Now the formation we are playing is a simple 4-4-2, Sasuke and Naruto will normally be up top. Behind those two, I would like Shikamaru and Shino as defensive central mids, you guys will need to drop back in front of the two centerbacks and provide cover on defense." Shikamaru just let out small sigh and then yawned. He had heard all of this already, and had basically mastered his positioning beyond Iruka's understanding.

Iruka continued to address who went where and who did what. Neji and Rock Lee were wide midfielders, Kiba and Ryko were the two fullbacks, and the Kobayashi twins were the two central defenders. All of that was rounded off by Choji, who would play in goal.

_Here is what the team looks like on a sheet of paper:_

_Sasuke - Naruto_

_Rock Lee - Shino - Shikamaru - Neji_

_Kiba - Satoyuki - Sakutarou - Ryko_

_Choji_

The team listened as Iruka finished explaining everything as thorough as he could make it for them, and was happy with what he had accomplished when he was all done.

"Alright, now that I have recapped all of that, I need to tell you guys a little about Kirigakure," though Iruka was rather serious, he still held a smile on his face.

"As some of you may now, the Kirigakure academy, as well as their professional team, is considered one of the worst in their respective leagues. Now, I don't want to give you guys the wrong message, and make this seem easy because it certainly won't. Remember you can never underestimate them."

Naruto then spoke, "Who cares Iruka-sensei, it doesn't matter who they are we are going to destroy everybody-dattebayo!"

Iruka then grew red in the face, "Didn't I just say to never underestimate your opponent!" he shouted, "If you go into it with a cocky attitude like that, you won't play to your full potential because you will take them lightly. You have to go in with confidence, not cockiness, Naruto."

Naruto chuckled at the word, _cocky_, causing Iruka to shout, "DAMN IT NARUTO, QUIT IT!"

Naruto just chuckled more and rubbed the back of his head with a large grin on his face. Iruka just sighed, "Anyway, as I was saying; Kirigakure academy has already played their first game against the Iwagakure academy and while they may have lost, there was someone special on their team that caused the Iwa academy a lot of trouble."

Iruka then reached to his back pocket and pulled out a picture, "This is how I am speaking of, his name is Haku."

Naruto looked at the picture and a look of shock and irritation came over him. The 'boy' had long black hair and a paleish complexion. If they hair weren't enough to make you think it was a girl, then the seeming application of lipstick would, "That is definitely not a guy! Look at her, I mean him, but it looks like a her, AGHHHH! What the hell!"

"Naruto, quit it!" Iruka shouted.

"I have to agree with you Naruto that does look like a girl." Kiba spoke up.

Iruka let out another painful sigh at their lack of focus. "Well, besides his looks. He is still a menacing forward, he attacks with speed and dribbles nearly flawlessly, if I had to compare it to anything, it is like he is gliding on ice. That's how good it looks."

This caused a few of the boys to whisper to one another, "Pay attention everyone, I am almost finished." Iruka broke up the whispers of everyone and continued, "Now the way I was looking to counter this was to have the two central defenders, that is you Satoyuki and Sakutarou, to guard him at all times, but I think he is too fast and crafty for you to handle, so Ryko," Ryko glanced up surprised at his name being mentioned, "I will have you marking him at all times, understood?"

Ryko just looked at his coach and teacher confused, _'He wants me to do that? That sounds annoying.'_

He still had a confused look on him, but nodded and agreed with his coach. "Good," Iruka exclaimed, "as long as you guys play your game you will do just fine." He smiled and then added, "I guess that completes today's training session," Iruka then began to walk through his players and waved over his shoulder, "See you all tomorrow."

With that, all the kids exited the practice field and began changing and getting ready to leave.

Except for Naruto that is.

Naruto felt a surge of desire as he watched his new team leave the training grounds. He wanted to stay longer; he wanted to be as good as he was before and didn't want to let his team down once that game came. He had noticed that he was still lacking in almost all areas during his first day of training, and he couldn't let that be the case, he had to get better. He couldn't be like he was before the scrimmages. He couldn't be the weakest one, the one who everyone disliked because he wasn't as good as everyone else.

'_Things will not go back to the way before. Not now. Not ever.'_

Naruto lay on his back staring at the ceiling of the academy. He closed his eyes momentarily, as if escaping anything that reality offered him.

**Naruto's thoughts/imagination**

"_Ladies and Gentleman, I present to you your World Cup winning nation, Konohagakure!" The stadium erupted in a roar of cheers from the crowd, fans chanting and shouting in congratulation at the winning nation. _

_Tears filled one girl's eyes as she watched a blond boy, no a blond man, that was on the victorious nation. His beautiful, cerulean blue eyes sparkled as he caught her pink hair in the crowd and gave her the smile that only she got from him, the boy then gave a thumbs up that equaled the enthusiasm his face possessed._

"_Now, I would like to present the World Cup trophy to another than, the captain…"_

"Naruto?" A voice came from the doorway as the blond boy got up, startled by the unexpected voice.

"Naruto, what are you still doing here? Training ended hours ago." The voice came from a masked man, his silver hair was widely spiked to one side, and his heterochromatic eyes gazed at the boy in curiosity.

"Oh, sorry Kakashi-sensei, I was just training a little extra, I don't want to fall behind everybody." The boy kind of looked at the ground in sorrow, as if he was fearful that he was going to get reprimanded for being there way after he was supposed to.

Kakashi just chuckled, _'Figures. Knowing him, this could be an everyday occurance,' _he thought to himself as he walked over to the boy. Once he had reached the boy, he offered out his hand, "Come on, I think you have worked hard enough for one day."

Naruto grabbed his sensei's hand and used him as leverage to pull himself up. Once he stood, he couldn't get his balance, and immediately fell to the ground again, landing on his knees.

"Looks like you worked a little too hard," behind Kakashi's mask was a smile as he said those words. He picked the boy up and leaned down so Naruto could put his arm around his shoulders so he could keep his balance. Together, they walked out of the academy and parted ways at the door, Naruto walked towards home, limping a little, but happy nonetheless at his efforts.

* * *

**Another excerpt from Sakura's diary**

_So today didn't go the way I had expected it would. About a week ago, Naruto said that once he got out of the hospital, that Sasuke, he and I should go get lunch together. In reality, I knew that it would just end up being Naruto and I like usual because Sasuke doesn't accept anything, but still it wouldn't have hurt to try._

_Plus, after the way that I have been thinking about the two, it may be a situation that needs to happen as I figure out my feelings more. The short encounter with Naruto was just like they used to be. I was angry at him, and felt a need to beat the crap out of him. Which I did._

_I kind of regret it though, I bet the baka has a lot on his mind, just getting out of the hospital and returning to the academy must have him under a lot of stress. I hope he did well today, actually._

_Wow, why am I being so nice to him? I have never ever treated him like this. There has to be something I am seeing, something that I am not realizing that I truly feel. Some of my constant thoughts of Sasuke are being replaced with that stupid blond. It doesn't bother me like it should though._

_What has changed? I'm so confused really. Ever since he became confident and became enjoyable to be around, I have treated him better. Hell, even Ino acknowledged him one day when we were together. She is probably thinking the same as I am actually, she even said, "Wow, he really has changed hasn't he?" and looked at him almost like she did Sasuke! _

_I just can't put my finger on what has changed about him, and why I feel this way nowadays. What am I overlooking here?_

* * *

_**Side-note: If anyone was confused by everything Iruka was saying about positions and all that, you don't really have to understand it completely, just know that it is a game plan :P**_

* * *

**A/N: Hi people! Do you guys like the names I gave the new secondary characters?! I do, especially Ryko Maru (because he is who I would be in the Naruto-verse ;)) I thought of him when I was younger and played ninja with my friends, we all had names and stuff, and that was the name I had :P**

**In terms of length, this chapter is actually rather short, and I apologize if this seemed like a weak chapter. I felt like it kind of was, but it set some things up with his situation at the academy and all. I don't know how important it actually was, but I still feel it had some necessary aspects. **

**Anyway, who noticed how much better my paragraphs got?! :D**

**A lot better than the last few that's for sure. I apologize if that deterred anyone from reading this too; this is the format it will be in from now on anyone.**

**One more thing, I felt that I should add the Sakura diary entry again, because I feel like…like this chapter's NaruSaku moment was rather small, but adding the diary entries that are about Naruto keep that element. If you guys want one every chapter, I can try, but for right now, I will probably do one every time something important between them happens, or if I feel there hasn't been an interaction between them in while…putting it that way, it might just be an every chapter occurance…Well if you all want that, tell me in a review or message me!**

**Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Review, review, review! I love reading what you guys think and I can't thank everyone enough who reads these chapters, it makes me all happy and shtuff.**

**See ya next time!**

**Me****: Say bye everyone! Oh and lets give a special thank you to the GUY who enjoys this the most, Key and Lock!  
**

**Naruto: ****Hope you all enjoyed and thank you for reading-dattebayo!  
**

**Sakura:**** Bye everyone, see you next time! And thanks for your reviews, Key-san!  
**

**Sasuke: ****Hn. Whatever  
**

**Me: ****Damn it Sasuke, you are so lame.**


	7. Chapter 7: We are underway

**A/N: Hello everyone, great to see you again! Last chapter was more of a success than the previous one by a decent amount actually! I was presently surprised on its debut. You guys keep me motivated to keep this up, despite the slight feeling that this isn't as good as I thought it would be, but hey. You live and learn, and in this case, write and learn. **

**I have been reading a lot of other fanfictions recently and I must say that the best one that I have read so far would have to be ****You Said Yes**** a NaruSaku based fanfic that has a writing style that absolutely blew me away. I have never read a fanfic so well versed and well written before, so I recommend checking that out. Oh and as I finish this chapter up, there is another NaruSaku one called ****Perfectly Imprefect Love ****and while I'm sure if you are an avid NaruSaku fanfic reader, you have already read those two, but they are just so fantastic.**

**Anyway, I think this is my longest period between chapters and it has only been like a few days! I know that is way too long, I'm sorry xP I would really like to thank my two new favorite people, ****Key and Lock ****and ****theIrishWriter**** for once again reviewing, you guys are the best. Thank you to everyone else who reviewed as well, and remember, if you have a suggestion or a simple comment or question, please leave a review or message me or something so I can address it. **

**Thank you all and here is Chapter 7!**

* * *

**Chapter 7: We are underway**

**(Two day-ish skip)**

"Ugh! What is taking him so long?!" Naruto grumpily complained. Kakashi-sensei was 45 minutes late and counting to his first day of training he had promised when Naruto was in the hospital.

'_He told me 3 o'clock exactly and it is 3:45! I am going to be so pissed at him when he gets here!' _Naruto fumed in his own head, kicking the ground with his special white boots already on his feet. Along with his boots, he had a white t-shirt on with the Konoha leaf insignia in the center of it in orange, and then dark black shorts.

He decided that if he was going to be waiting a while he might as well relax for the time being, and lazily leaned back against the rough metal wall of the academy, and slid down until he was sitting on the ground. He extended his legs out and examined the boots that were on his feet, something he seemingly did on a daily basis ever since his first day at the academy where he had given quite the performance, but even he was confused at the quick change in form and athleticism.

'_These really are something special aren't they? _The shoes seemed as if they emitted light from them, though the white color that they were adorned with was pretty faded and was beginning to be overtaken by a light brown color.

Just then Naruto heard footsteps coming towards him, and looked towards their direction. As if he didn't even realize what the time was, or that he was 45 minutes late, Kakashi-sensei strolled up to the boy, "Why hello Naruto," he said giving the boy a smile underneath his mask, closing his eyes in delight.

"DO YOU REALIZE THAT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU FOR THE PAST 45 MINUTES?!" Naruto shouted, blood pulsing through his head at an unbelievable rate, so that it made it seem as if his head was about to explode.

Kakashi just chuckled, "Well, it's just that there was this old lady crossing the street, and well, being the kind person I am I…"

"ENOUGH WITH THE EXCUSE, KAKASHI-SENSEI! WE ARE WASTING VALUABLE TRAINING TIME HERE!"

"Alright, Naruto, settle down. I am here now, so we can get started."

"Then hurry up and unlock the practice area already!"

Kakashi then reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys and chuckled. He fiddled with the lock for a second and opened up the door. The door led directly into the practice field from outside, as opposed to the normal way of going through the front door, through the entrance area, and through the locker room.

As soon as Naruto got through the door and sprinted over to a bag of soccer balls that lay against a wall on the side of the field. He returned to where Kakashi was and poured the bag out at his feet.

"What are we going to do first?!" he asked excitedly, slightly jumping up and down in anticipation.

"Alright Naruto, calm down now," Naruto stopped jumping, but left the large grin on his face.

"The first thing I want you to do is juggle the ball." Kakashi said rather plainly.

"Juggle? You mean with my hands?" Naruto said now holding a ball in each hand.

"No, not with your hands, with your feet."

Then a look of bewilderment came over Naruto's face as his eyebrows furrowed together as he tried to think of how somebody can juggle a bunch of balls with their feet.

Kakashi sighed at the boy's foolishness, "Well, I guess you don't understand at all, I will just show you." He then proceeded to roll a ball from the ground, flick it up in the air with a delicate touch and proceed to juggle.

The ball went up and down and up and down, perfectly hitting the same spot on Kakashi's right foot each time. Naruto could only watch the professional with curiosity and admiration at his abilities. The silver-haired professional continued on what he was doing for a little bit longer. He was able to then switch feet, and then began to alternate feet.

He then let the ball fall to the floor and put his foot on top of it, stopping it. "Now, it's your turn."

Naruto just looked at the ball at his feet, confused as to where to go from there, "You want me to do that?"

"Yes I do, it's really simple actually. If you don't want to flick the ball up like I did, pick it up and start from your hands."

Naruto then picked up the ball from the ground and lobbed it in front of him. As the ball got closer and closer towards the ground, he put his foot out to hit it and flicked it up. Naruto didn't quite have the control that his current teacher did, but he was able to keep the ball close to him for him to do it a second time, and then a third, and a fourth and so on. All with his right foot, once he was around 20, he was starting to get the hang of it and the ball got more and more under his control, "Hey, I'm not as bad at this as I thought I would be!"

Kakashi just chuckled, '_For someone who has never done it before, he really is getting the hang of it pretty fast,' _just then Naruto began to lose control of the ball and it began to get away from him. Naruto still was trying to hit it with his right foot as it came across the left side of his body, causing him to spin around in a circle.

"Don't be afraid to use your other foot, Naruto."

As he said that, Naruto regained his composure and began to use his left foot, but that didn't last long, as he found himself favoring his right and neglecting his left again, now that it was under control.

But the ball did come back to his left foot, and this time, he couldn't save it. He stuck out his left leg and the ball hit his ankle and rolled to the ground.

"Well that was honestly better than I expected, Naruto, I must say that I am impressed," Naruto just rubbed the back of his head and chuckled underneath his large, infamous grin.

"I guess now that I have seen you are able to do the fundamentals of basic control, why don't we get a little more advanced, shall we?"

With those words, Kakashi walked a ways away, kicking a couple of balls along with him and once he got a good enough distance away, turned and faced him. Without warning, Kakashi kicked the ball in the air at good speed towards him. Naruto had little time to react and try to get the ball under control, thus, the ball hit his leg and went far out of his reach.

"Hey! I wasn't ready for that one!"

"How many times are you actually prepared for something to happen in a game, Naruto? Not everything is going to come at you perfectly and not everything is going to happen the way you expect it. So be ready at all times."

Then Kakashi rolled another ball out at a reach and let the ball fly. The ball came with more height and less speed this time, and was aimed right at Naruto, so that, apart from adjusting, he didn't have to move.

Naruto put his right foot out to stop it, and cushioned the ball. The ball bounced in the air, but Naruto was able to get it under control after a few more touches.

"Try and get the ball at your feet with your first touch this time!"

Then another ball came flying towards Naruto. This time, it was more of a line drive; it had a lot less height on it, but a lot more speed. The ball seemed to hover perfectly over the grass in a straight line directed at Naruto's feet.

This time, Naruto was on his toes, prepared for it. He let the ball come to him, positioned his body for a good touch of the ball and received it with the most delicate of touches. A ball going that fast is difficult for a lot of people to handle, and he just made it look almost simple.

"Nice job, Naruto! Just like that!"

And for another two hours that is how training went. A different drill, a different way of doing things, but all of the drills had the same basic purpose. Control.

How well could the boy learn to control the ball at his feet or with his chest and body, how could he react when the ball wasn't coming towards him, and could he put himself in position to receive the ball and move with it?

All of those things were covered on the first day, _'I never thought he would do that well on just the first day, but he still needs a lot of work with it.' _Kakashi thought as he watched Naruto in almost the same position as he had caught him in a few nights ago, sprawled out on the ground, rather exhausted from a hard day's work.

Walking over to the boy on the ground, he extended his hand again courteously to help the boy up, "Well, Naruto," as he spoke they grasped one another's hand and Naruto began to rise off the ground, "I must say I am pretty impressed with how much you were able to accomplish in just one day."

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei! It was a lot better this time with a good teacher with me."

If Kakashi was the type of person to blush, he would have done so slightly at that nice compliment. The two then walked towards and out the door they had entered, saying their parting words and going home. It was a rather déjà vu-esque ending to a nice training session.

* * *

**(Another two day time skip)**

Today was the Konoha academy's first game against Kirigakure. The academy team from Kiri had arrived the night before and was staying at a hotel close to the academy facility where they would play.

Naruto and all of his teammates were in the locker room, waiting for Iruka sensei to come in so that he could give a talk before the match started. Everyone was in their own little world at the time. Kiba and Neji both had headphones over their heads and around their ears. Sasuke just gazed blankly at the sight of his open locker with a few clothes in it, his elbows on his thighs and hands together while his head rested on them. Choji was still eating, and Shino sat quietly on the bench. Then there was Shikamaru who was asleep sitting up, and then Rock Lee, who was looking in the mirror doing wild and "youthful" stretches.

Naruto sat alone in front of his locker, but unlike the others, he was lost in thought. He couldn't help but feel nervous. Was all this effort and practice going to be worth it? Was he going to be worse than he was before his injury? Would he get injured again?

Then, the savior to Naruto's thoughts came through the door. Iruka had his clipboard and pencil in hand, with a hardened look on his face.

"Alright everybody today is the big day," he spoke, "It will be our first game as a team and your first game as an academy member. No matter what the end result is tonight, I want you guys to remember this moment for the rest of your lives," Iruka began to pace side to side at the front of the locker room where everyone could see him, "I have told you time and time again what we would be doing today, so I hope we are able to at least get the basic skills down for today's game. The lineup is the same as the one I have been saying, and I know that you all will be prepared for this. I have faith in you guys, and I know you will do the legacy of this academy proud today," Iruka smiled, "Now make sure you have every piece of your uniform and equipment on and we can all head out."

Iruka walked to the door and some of the players immediately followed. Naruto just stood up, and looked intently at the back of his locker, lost in his own head again, engulfed with vicious thoughts that could haunt him, should he stay in them.

He let out a deep sigh and laced up his special boots and put on his jersey. The green on the jerseys weren't very flattering, but the white numbers on the back seemed to pop. Naruto walked towards the door, at the same time, walking with and behind him were Sasuke and Shikamaru. Then, Kiba and Neji slowly appeared and trailed behind. As the field came into sight, the number 9 had entered the field.

Naruto had jogged over to the side that his team was on and met up with his teammates before they had to enter the field. On his way over, Naruto was able to catch a glance at his opponents. The Kirigakure academy wore a bright blue jersey with ripple patterns that were darker shades of blue and went across the chest of the jersey. Most of the kids were rather small and weak in stature, but there was only one player and someone else that caught his eye. Next to the bench that they sat at, was a boy with long black hair, a pale complexion, and arms and legs that seemed dainty.

'_That must be that Haku girl….guy,'_ Naruto thought.

But it was the person that was next to him that sent a shiver down Naruto's spine. Seeing as he was much taller and older looking than everyone else, Naruto could only assume he was the coach, or at least he hoped it was. His hair was spiked up like Kakashi and Ryko's but found a middle ground between the two and was a dark brown color. His eyes were a pitch black; much like Sasuke's, and his muscular definition was enviable, to put it lightly. The thing that gave you the chills though, was the mask of bandages that covered all of his face apart from his eyes and the area around it.

Once Naruto had gotten close to Iruka, he felt a need to ask, "Iruka-sensei, who is that huge guy over there?" he asked, pointing in the direction of the opposing team.

Iruka eyes widened for a quick second, as if not noticing before, but his demeanor soon became calm and serious, "That man is Zabuza Momochi. In the last few years I have managed the academy team, I have never seen him coach the Kiri academy, but I guess I am not all to surprised. He was a member of the best group to ever come out of Kirigakure, the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, but all 7 aren't there anymore. They are part of the reason their Premier League team is called the Kiri Swordsman (or Kiri FC for short)."

Naruto gulped looking at the guy again, _'He sure is scary.'_

Before entering on the field, Naruto gave the large crowd he heard in the background as he entered a look for the first time. Much to his surprise, the bleachers that housed the fans were almost completely full! The academy's first inaugural game is a pretty big deal, but he sure didn't expect the turn out to be like this. To Naruto though, this didn't help his nerves very much, now on top of the nerves was a feeling of pressure. _'Great. Just the feeling I needed.'_

Scanning through the crowd, he saw the typical Sasuke fan club in attendance as well as the parents and all, but nowhere in sight was the person he was looking for, _'Oh well,'_ he thought, _'she is probably just running a little late getting over here,'_ sure enough as he was about to look away, a pink haired girl came walking towards the stand dragging a girl with long blond hair behind her and looking angrily at her.

Naruto just chuckled, his nerves were washed away and he felt that sense of ease he needed to feel. He was also beginning to feel that confidence that Iruka was talking about a few days ago. There was no holding back; he was going to give it everything he had and more. If he hadn't already made himself noticed to everyone in attendance already, he sure would tonight, along with everyone on Kiri. '_They will all go back to their village, remembering what I did to them today-attebayo!' _Naruto thought excitedly to himself. He was pumped, and he was ready.

Soon enough, a few referees walked onto the field, and the one in the center blew a whistle.

"Alright guys, gather in one last time!" Iruka shouted at his team, the boys all ran over and huddled around one another.

"I know you guys are ready for this. We may be still have some things to work on and need to get to be a team more, but our season starts today. You guys have to give it everything you got and really take it to them. Play your game and be confident, and there is no doubt in my mind that you guys will win. Everyone who is a starter go get in your positions. Good luck guys."

And with that the Konohagakure academy took the field for the first time in a game. Upon entry, they were accompanied by the applause of the supporting fans. Cries for Sasuke could be heard from the girl's fanclub, much to his dismay and annoyance, but one cry caught Naruto's ears,

"Naruto! Sasuke! Good luck you guys!"

A smile crossed Naruto's face as he made eye contact with the speaker, he looked over towards Sasuke who was looking at her as well and while his facial expression was cold, a hint of eagerness was present in his eyes. Naruto just chuckled and they both were then looking at her.

Sakura couldn't help but let a blush come to her face as the two boys looked up at her.

Then, Naruto and Sasuke were lined up together at midfield, the ball on the ground between them. They looked at one another, while the look only lasted a second or two; it was one of those looks that showed understanding and a connection. Off the field they may be like frenemies, or whatever you want to call them, but on the field they are a duo, a partnership. And a damn good one at that.

Then, another whistle was heard from the referee, the game had begun. It was time for everything that the boys had done to be put to the test; it was time for individuals to shine and the team to prove itself.

* * *

Naruto rolled the ball to Sasuke who then passed it back to his teammates in the midfield. Both forwards jogged up the field to get into their attacking positions and watched as the ball flowed towards the left side of the field. As the ball came to Lee, he was under light pressure from a defender and he was able to pass it back towards Kiba who played it towards the Kobayashi twins who passed it between one another before finding Ryko on the far right side.

Sasuke darted in a diagonal run that cut in front of and between the two center backs, seeing this Ryko let the ball roll out in front of him and unleashed a powerful, lofted kick that was headed towards Sasuke's path.

In order to find the ball, Sasuke had to look up and over his shoulder. The ball was nearing its target and rather quickly as it moved with a slight curve in the air. The Uchiha reached a foot out for the ball and was somehow able to control it at his feet. Two defenders caught up with him, as it took a second and he had to slow down to gain control of the ball.

Sasuke took it upon himself to get past the two as he dribbled away from goal towards the sideline to create space for anyone looking to support him. As if on cue, Lee was darting in from his wide left position. The exuberant boy's speed was too much for the players trying to keep up with him and he quickly filled the space Sasuke created.

Kiba filled the gap that Lee had left open and gave Sasuke a trail **(A)** option. The Konoha academy was really giving the Kiri academy something to worry about. A small mistake here and there and it was sure to lead to a scoring opportunity.

Lee's run ended up being too quick though and Sasuke wasn't able to get ready to give him the ball before he was already in an offside position. Instead, Sasuke opted for the back pass to Kiba who then gave the ball to Shino in the middle of the field.

Shino quickly passed the ball to the opposite side to Neji who then took the ball in stride at his feet, weaving in and out of defender after defender until he found himself in a 1 on 1 situation with one of the Kiri centerbacks. He did a few step overs **(B)**, but the defender didn't fall for his quick skills.

Neji and Shikamaru must've realized their solution to getting through the defense at the same time because as Neji turned to look for a pass, Shikamaru was already there waiting to receive it. Neji gave a quick pass to him and made a run in to space to receive it again. Shikamaru gave the ball back to Neji who then did the same as he had just done and moved into space, taking another defender out of the equation and Shikamaru receiving the ball. Again, Neji got the ball back from Shikamaru, and with that pass they only had to get past one defender before they were through on goal.

Without even hesitating, Shikamaru lobbed the ball over the defender's head and onto the path of Lee who had darted past Neji as they made similar runs into the box. Lee got it at his feet and in two swift touches, struck the ball as hard as he could. The ball rocketed off the post, leaving the goal shaking and going behind him, but they still retained position of the ball.

The Konoha academy held the ball for what seemed like forever just trying to find a way through the organized defense. Naruto was on the opposite side and waited for the ball to swing around to his half before he would try his idea. The ball was swung over to Ryko at the right fullback position and Naruto gave a checking run **(C) **to the ball as Ryko played it to him. As he came to the ball, a defender pressed with him. This opened up space on the right side so that they could attack down it. As Ryko filled that space they had just opened up, Naruto played a pass to Shikamaru, who found Ryko with the laziest, but the most perfect, of passes.

Ryko rushed the ball all the way to the goal line and crossed the ball in. Lee was at the back post **(D) **and Sasuke was in the middle of the goal box, but was guarded by a slightly taller defender. The ball hung in the air for a couple seconds before it was obvious that it would fall to Sasuke who tried to out-jump the defender in front of him, but the defender beat him to it and headed it away.

The ball was only headed as far as the top of the box and was bouncing slightly. In a flash, Naruto was on top of the ball. He unleashed a powerful strike, it was curving away from the keeper because he didn't exactly hit it in the center, but it was too fast for the keeper to react. The goalie and his defenders watched as the ball hit the back of the net.

The crowd stood and clapped as Naruto dashed towards the corner flag where his teammates, sans Sasuke, mobbed him in celebration. They all cheered, patted him on the back, high fived him, and jostled his hair. Who better to score the first goal of their careers at the academy then the boy-wonder who just couldn't stop surprising people?

Naruto couldn't stop grinning his huge grin as he waved in acknowledgment of the fans, and gave a wink to Sakura.

They both chuckled at their exchange.

Naruto moved his glance to behind him once he felt a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke was there, "Not bad, dobe." Sasuke just gave a small smirk and Naruto couldn't help but smile more at the emotionless boy.

Naruto then turned his head towards Iruka and gave him a big thumbs up to his teacher who was clapping for him. It was all rather surreal for Naruto, this is something you dreamed about, people cheering for you after you score a fantastic goal. The world seems to revolve around you and there is no better feeling.

Haku was standing next to Zabuza after the goal, the two exchanged some words and Haku jogged back into position. As soon as the whistle blew to restart the game, his teammate rolled the ball towards him and he took off in a blur of speed.

He was already beyond Sasuke and Naruto and moving on to the midfield, Shino was the first one to come into his path and brushed by him so fast that he almost couldn't react.

As soon as Haku was jogging back to midfield after talking with his coach, Shikamaru had a hunch and moved to a more defensive position before they even kicked the ball off. As Haku attacked him, there was enough space in between them that Shikamaru could react to his movements, but with one quick step over, Haku seemed to glide past him, _'How troublesome.'_

Next was Satoyuki and Sakutarou in defense, Sakutarou approached the girly looking boy and stuck out a foot for a tackle. At the last moment for Haku, he moved the ball out of the path of his leg, so that it only brushed him and deflected a little to the right.

Before Haku could regain possession of it though, Ryko came from the side and blasted the ball high into the air and away from their half, delivering a crunching blow to Haku in the process.

As the ball went out of bounds for a throw-in, Haku lay still on the ground for a second before hopping to his feet and getting back into position.

At halftime, the score was 2-0 to Konoha. At just about the end of the half, Satoyuki was able to get on the end of a corner kick and he headed it in without even jumping.

The boys all sat down, some on the bench and some on the ground as they passed around the bottles of water that they had and listened to what Iruka had to say, "Fantastic half everyone! Everything seems to be working really well. You guys are passing the ball great, finding space, and everything we have been working on in training is being executed perfectly, I couldn't be happier with the way things are going right now, just remember to not take the opposition lightly and we will secure ourselves our first victory."

In response a few players let out some small cheers as they anticipated picking up a win in their first game. The same 11 players that started the half took the field again, accompanied for the second time, by the applause of the crowd.

The game started with Kiri in possession, they passed it around the midfield a bit before forcing it up to Haku. The boy brought it to his feet precisely and began to attack forward. He had received the ball already around the midfield and was able to make his way to the defense again with ease, but before he could make it to the center backs this time, he was hit from the side by Kiba and the ball rolled out of both their paths and Haku was knocked to the ground.

Before Kiba could gain ground on the boy, Haku was already standing and sprinting towards the ball.  
As the ball rolled towards the right side of the field, Haku got ahead of Kiba and retained possession, he faked the Inuzuka into thinking he was going back to the middle with a fake turn and ran at the right side of the Konoha academy defense.

There to deliver another cracking blow and clearance was Ryko, but this time, Haku shielded the ball from the reckless Maru and ended up taking the kick himself. Haku feel to the ground in pain, but as the referee was about to blow his whistle for a foul, Haku was yet again on his feet and able to get on the ball. The ref decided to play advantage instead **(E) **and Haku continued on.

Naruto just watched in awe at the boy's sheer determination and desire. He saw that no matter what hits he had to take or what things he had to do, this boy was going to accomplish his goal. Maybe he was a little selfish, but the teammates around him seemed to rely on his attacking abilities. Naruto watched as Haku skillfully did a roulette **(F) **and evaded the Kobayashi twins, splitting them and finding himself 1 on 1 with Choji.

Choji hadn't had any action all game, so he was surprised when the boy with the girly looks was 1 on 1 with him. The boy faked to the left and then the right, but Choji stood his ground and waited for the boy to come just a little closer before he would react.

Haku then tried to place the ball in the bottom left corner, but Choji made a great save to parry it out for a corner kick. His fellow defending teammates all came up to him and gave him pats on the back and told him good job for saving their asses.

The ensuing corner led to nothing and the ball was in Konoha's possession. Naruto couldn't help but be left in shock by Haku's desire and heart he had for doing his best and getting through every situation. The blond boy with whisker-like birthmarks on his cheeks felt inspired by the young Kiri kid's efforts. Even if his position seemed hopeless, the boy fought and fought and fought. That's something that needs recognition.

* * *

The rest of the game was smooth sailing for the Konoha academy team, and thanks to two more goals the game finished 4-0. Neji scored a goal after he found space in the center of the field and curved it into the top right hand corner, and Sasuke did some silky skills and finished it off with a cool, calm shot that rolled its way into the corner, much to the delight of the Sasuke fanclub.

Afterwards the two teams shook hands and wished each other good game, but Naruto felt that he wanted to say more to one of his opponents, "Hey!" Naruto shouted gaining the boy's attention. He walked over to the boy with long bangs on the side of his face that extended past his shoulders, "I just wanted to say great job out there, and you really impressed me with your will." Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he said that and Haku just gave a small smile.

"You must be Naruto, word is traveling fast about your displays in the academy tryouts."

Naruto kind of blushed at the thought of him being known outside his village.

Haku continued, "A lot of people ask me why I work so hard when my team just loses a lot, and the answer to me is simple really," Naruto was really paying attention at this point, "I play because of my coach, Zabuza. His wish is my command and no matter what he asks of me, I will do it to the best of my abilities. I live and breathe just for that purpose."

Naruto was a little taken aback by his words, "Why would you go through all that just for him?"

"I am basically a tool at his disposal, he took me in when I had nothing and I will do his bidding to the best of my abilities and I will do everything I can for him."

"But Haku, there is so much more to this game and to life than just that!"

"That is what I am meant to live for, Naruto. You will understand."

"But I don't understand, I really don't!"

"Naruto, is there...somebody precious to you? Let me just say that when a person has something important they want to protect, that's when they can acheive anything that set their heart on. I know you have a dream, just like everyone other boy does, but you are different in that you do it for a different reason. You do it to be acknowledged,you see that it is only through the eyes of others that our lives have any significance, when there is no one who sees you or will even look at you, it is as if you don't exist. When I look into your eyes, I know you have felt that pain in one way or another."

Naruto just stood there silent, looking at Haku, stunned by his words.

Then a hand appeared on Haku's shoulder, behind him, was a man that towered over the two academy players,

"Haku, come on, it's time to get going." He glared at the Uzumaki boy a little more, "You know, you have a lot going for ya kid."

And with that they both walked away. Naruto was in a state of mass confusion at what he had just heard come out of the boy's mouth, as well as Zabuza's. It was all to much to take in at one time. The words that Haku said clicked in his head, but he just wasn't sure why. He shrugged it off for the time being, and headed over to the team that was now all laughs and smiles near the team's bench.

"Alright, everyone," Iruka spoke, "I know how excited you are, but before you guys head out, I wanted to say that you guys did a fantastic job and way to get your first win boys, you all did fantastic."

In that moment, Iruka's smile was a proud one, he was so happy to see most of his team smiling and enjoying themselves. It really is the fun of the game that is the best part, not so much the result in the end.

The boys cheered again and high fived one another and walked towards the locker room as a team. The guys were greeted a third time by the applause of the, now halved, crowd that was still there. Sasuke found it to be a fantastic time to take his shirt off before he reached the locker room and a few loud thuds were heard from the stands as girls fainted then and there.

"You couldn't have waited 20 more seconds to do that, huh teme?!" Naruto shouted against the swooning noises of the girls that were left standing. Sasuke just turned a cheek to the blond boy and they all carried on into the locker room.

After they were all done changing and ready to go home, Sasuke and Naruto walked out of the academy side by side, and arguing about something foolish again or at least Naruto was.

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto! Hey!"

The boys turned behind them to see Sakura walking over, Sasuke turned his head the other way and didn't move, and Naruto waved at her as she approached,

"Oh hiya, Sakura-chan! Want to walk home with us?"

"Well actually, I was thinking, well…maybe the three of us could go get some dinner or something, I mean I'm sure you guys are hungry after the ga…"

Sakura was cut off by some yelling coming from the blond knucklehead, "Sounds great, Sakura-chan! Ichiraku's it is!" Naruto then looked at the bag that was slung across Sasuke's shoulder and pulled a wallet out of a side pocket, "Awe Sasuke! You're treating the both of us?! You shouldn't have offered; that was so nice of you!" Naruto said mockingly, chuckling as he held Sasuke off with the wallet still in his hand.

"Give that back you dumb dobe." Sasuke said reaching for the wallet.

Sakura giggled at the two boys in front of her. What a sight they both were to her.

The three walked off into the impending sunset as they headed off for the ramen stand that Naruto always wanted to go to. Naruto had run ahead of the two, still holding Sasuke's wallet. Sasuke and Sakura walked side by side watching Naruto playfully jog ahead.

"You know once we get to the stand I'm going to kill you right?" Sasuke said stoically.

Naruto just left and distanced himself a little more from the pair and laughed a little more. The three walked a little farther into the distance fading as they hit the bustling street market that was near their location.

Three "best friends", a win, and some ramen. Not many better things in life now are there?

* * *

**(A) **– **A trail is just a pass backwards**

**(B) **– **A stepover is a basic skill in which a player tries to fake out a defender by 'stepping over' the ball and taking it the other direction**

**(C)**– **A checking run is when you run towards the player that has the ball. Usually it is done to drag a defender that is marking you, out of position.**

**(D)**– **Back post means that you are on the farthest goal post of the player with the ball**

**(E)**– **Advantage is played by a referee when there should be a foul, but the team is better off with play continuing.**

**(F)**– **A roulette (or Maradona) is when a player basically spins on the ball. It's hard to explain, if you really don't know it, just look it up on YouTube. It's pretty basic.**

* * *

**A/N: Damn that was much longer chapter than normal. I thought about breaking it off before the game started, but thought that you guys deserved a longer chapter because you all are the best people ever! **

**I hope you are really enjoying the story as much as I am enjoying writing it. **

**Review, review, review, follow, favorite and review some more! I love yo facez and see you all next chapter!**


	8. Arigatou Minna!

**5/24/2014**

**Hello everybody!**

**I just want to say thank you to everyone that has followed this story thus far and to tell you guys not to worry, and that I will be continuing this and apologize for the short break. **

**Finals were a bore and took up a lot of time, but now that school is out and all that is done, I can finally enjoy the summer! **

**This summer though is different from most though in that I will be doing a LOT of traveling. In the next few days I have State Cup for soccer which will take up some time. Then on June 6, I will be leaving for 10 days to go to Spain with my Spanish class, so during that time period, I won't be able to write or anything, but I will be keeping track of ideas that I get on my phone or something. **

**After that though, my summer schedule is a little uncertain. There are a lot of trips that my family has thought out, but we aren't 100% sure which ones we will do. Could be all of them, could be none, but they will put me in environments where finding the time for writing and all that isn't exactly the easiest.**

**Anyway, I wanted to let you guys know that I will try and put 1-2 chapters out before I leave. I hope 2, but I have had a TINY bit of writers block and I don't want to not fulfill my promise to you guys, so I am being a little modest with my wishes. And also wanted to say that if I get a moment to sit down and write, I will definitely take it.**

**So, I hope you guys enjoy your summer and look forward to reading what this story will become!**

**Side Note!: I could possibly delve into some other short projects including a songfic or two, maybe a more romantic story, ya never know ;) Those are just ideas though and this will always be my main project.**

**ありがとうみんな **

**Arigatou Minna!**


	9. Chapter 9: Crossbar Challenge

** Chapter 9: The Crossbar Challenge**

**A/N: Hi everyone! This isn't an update from me, but nor is it actually a part of the story, I guess you could call it an additional one-shot or a filler. Although, it isn't really a filler because some things might come up again, but nothing major is happening is basically what I am saying. Just something to bide you guys over while I write the chapter that I am HOPEFULLY putting out before I leave in a few days.**

**Thank you all for being patient and I hope you enjoy!**

The sight that adorned the sky was one of darkness, a darkness which yields signs of a past light, but shows that it will come again once the time beckons for it. The bright stars were dimmed by the scattered lights of the village below them.

Naruto lay calmly looking up at those stars. The grass around him that belonged to his favorite training field seemed to mold around his body and his hands and arms that gently cushioned his head. He came to look at the sight above him whenever he felt called to go there, to see a sight that was said to soothe the soul. This usually meant that he came here when he was saddened by the events that occurred that day, but today that wasn't the case.

He looked up to the starry sky and curiously studied them. Today he had felt called to come here because he felt as if he needed to see something. He just wasn't sure what.

The stars always came in a particular pattern at this point in the night, and Naruto had studied them enough to point them out without even thinking twice about them. The constellations and the positioning were what brought a soothing sense of stability. Something Naruto felt that he lacked in his life.

Up until now that is.

Soccer brought a certain routine then him. It also brought friends and acquaintances. Things came into Naruto's life and things had changed in such a way for him that he didn't think it possibly to happen, and to happen so quickly nonetheless.

Naruto's mind was blank looking into the sky when suddenly, something in his mind clicked.

'_The stars….think of the stars…' _Naruto thought to himself as he continued to look at the sky, but this time more intently.

This time Naruto finally noticed what he was supposed to be looking at. It was something that he had noticed over and over again, but it just never clicked with him. The stars may change position over time, but in the end they always come back together to where they began. The stars come full circle.

'_Stars….they can be positioned just below the horizon to where they are unnoticeable, but at some point they are at the top where everyone can see them…'_ Naruto smiled at the thought that crossed his mind. He then proceeded to close his eyes slowly with the sense of hope and desire passing through him. It didn't take long for the boy to fall asleep right in the middle of the field… *****

Naruto awoke to the sound of rubber meeting metal. He sat up and rubbed his eyes groggily. His vision was slightly blurry upon awakening, but as his sight focused he noticed his current trainer and sensei, Kakashi striking a couple of balls on goal. But Naruto noticed he wasn't aiming for the goal, but he was at the same time. That's when he watched Kakashi position himself to strike the ball again, but before he did he turned and looked at, the now awake, Naruto.

"Ahhh, seems your awake now. I hope you hadn't forgotten that we were training today." Kakashi then ran up to the ball and kicked the ball. His foot hit low on the ball; just enough to get it off the ground a good bit. The ball line drived towards the goal, but instead of it going in, hit the crossbar. Kakashi seemed satisfied with what he had just done and lined to take another shot.

"Of course I didn't, Kakashi-sensei! I just didn't expect to fall asleep out here and stay asleep so long," Naruto said sheepishly as he watched Kakashi hit the ball again.

This time, the result was the same. Same distance, same speed, same spot on the crossbar. The bar vibrated vigorously and gave off a high pitched noise as the ball made contact with it and bounced off.

Naruto chuckled, "Well Kakashi-sensei, it seems your aim is a little off today isn't it?"

Kakashi just turned and looked at the boy that was now standing and watching behind him. Then, he turned again and did it once more. Once again, the ball struck metal.

"Quite the contrary Naruto, I am actually aiming for the crossbar."

"Well why would you want to aim there?"

"Just for fun is all. It's like a game."

"A game?"

"Yes, a game. The goal is to hit the crossbar first or if you are by yourself, from as far away as possible."

Kakashi was already positioned about 20 yards out at that point, so he took the ball and walked about 20 more yards back just at the top of the poorly made circle that was at midfield.

He then rolled the ball out from his feet, took a couple steps back and let fly. This time the ball moved with overwhelming speed and power. While the ball was in the air it dipped from the air pushing on it and made its contact with the crossbar again.

Naruto was awestruck at this point. Kakashi walked over to another ball that was close by and rolled it to him.

"You know Naruto, today I thought it would be a good idea to work on your shot accuracy by doing something else, but I think we could do this instead."

"Awesome! So I just aim for the crossbar?" Naruto asked.

"Yep, as simple as that."

"Alright! This'll be easy."

Naruto focused on the ball in front of him and then on his target. He ran and struck the ball with pure power and the ball rocketed towards goal. Unfortunately, the ball didn't get high enough, and just hit the back of the net.

"Argh! I could've sworn that was going to hit it!"

Naruto then walked to another ball that was close by and took another shot. This time it barely got off of the ground and went in off of the post.

"Oh come on," Naruto shouted, "this is stupid! It looked so easy when you did it Kakashi-sensei!"

"Well, I also wasn't trying to kill the ball. I was actually aiming for it. Besides, I didn't start out from 40 yards away. Go closer and start from there."

Naruto let out a rough breath and muttered to himself childishly as he dribbled a ball closer towards the goal.

Now that Naruto was closer to the goal than he was before, he noticed that he would have to get more elevation on the ball if he wanted it to hit his mark.

Naruto tried to realize what he could do and when he felt he got the right idea, ran up to the ball, but instead of kicking it with full power, he went for getting more elevation.

When he kicked the ball he got all the way underneath it, causing the ball to sail way over top the goal.

In a heap of frustration Naruto kicked the ground in disgust and scoffed.

"You're always such a dobe, you know that right? What are you doing anyway?"

Naruto turned to see Sasuke leaning against a nearby tree, a smug smirk across his face as he watched his rival and friend fail. Naruto just looked at him, his face showing signs of agitation and anger.

"What does it look like teme?! I'm trying to hit the damn crossbar." Naruto shouted.

Sasuke just let out another, "hnf," and walked over to where Naruto was. He took a ball from nearby and rolled it out at his feet. He walked a small distance next to Naruto and struck the ball.

The sound of rubber hitting metal rang in Naruto's ears.

"What the hell? That was the luckiest thing I have ever seen! You couldn't even do that again if you tried, teme!"

Sasuke just looked annoyed at Naruto and proceeded to take another ball and strike to towards the goal. This time though he barely missed his mark, seemingly brushing the underside of the bar.

Naruto began to laugh hysterically, "HAHAHA! I told you that you couldn't!"

"I haven't seen you hit the damn thing, dobe."

"Hey, shut up! Just watch me!"

'_This kids never cease to amuse me.' _Kakashi thought to himself as he found himself next to a nearby tree, letting the two boys play out whatever they were up to.

Naruto proceeded to miss his next 5 attempts, while Sasuke continued to get it on occasion, but never consistently. Naruto get angrier each time he missed, and even more so every time Sasuke hit his mark.

After another successful attempt, Sasuke turned towards Naruto and watched him. Naruto's attempt brushed the underside of the bar, the closest attempt he has had yet.

"Tell you what. Why don't we make this into a little contest?"

"Eh? Teme, what are you on about?"

"First one to hit the ball from 20, 30, 40 and 50 yards wins."

"Fine with me! But be prepared to lose this one-dattebayo!"

"Loser, you haven't even hit the first one yet."

"Shut the fuck up, bastard!"

Naruto and Sasuke proceeded on with their challenge. Right away Sasuke got the first one from 20 yards, much to Naruto's annoyance. As hard as Naruto tried he just couldn't hit the bar. His shots were powerful and accurate, but they were just too low.

Sasuke now was on a roll, hitting the one from 30 yards on only his fifth attempt. 40 yards though proved to be difficult. The ball had to be hit perfectly, with the correct combination of power and height. Sasuke's shots ended up ranging from over the top of the bar, to being short of the goal all together.

The boys continued on their charade of going for the crossbar, missing and retrieving their ball for about an hour. Even Kakashi was now reading his book, having lost interest in watching the two continuously miss.

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto! What'cha guys doing?"

Sasuke and Naruto, now a bit sweaty and tired looking, turned to face a smiling pink-haired girl that was approaching. She had a basket in her hand and looked as if she was looking for them.

"Hi Sakura-chan," Naruto shouted, then he looked at the basket in her hand, "Eh, what's the basket for?"

Sakura just chuckled, "Well, I actually was looking for you guys because I wanted to see if you all wanted some lunch. I just got some bento boxes full of onigiri, teriyaki and som…."

She was interrupted by Naruto's loud shouts, "Sounds great, Sakura-chan! I'm starving, come on Sasuke, let's take a break."

"I'm not hungr…." Just then Sasuke's stomach let out a loud growl, causing him to mutter something under his breath, "Fine. We can take a break."

The three people gathered around a tree and began to eat, Sakura pulled out four bento boxes and handed one to Naruto and Sasuke, before opening the one for her.

"Hey Sakura-chan, how come you packed four when there is only 3 of us?"

"Well, I know how hungry you get, so I figured I would make an extra just in case and if you didn't want all of it, we would just share it."

Naruto was shocked at what she had just said, and the idea that she would make extra precautions just for him. He felt a blush roll over his cheeks until he felt an uproarious laughter building in his throat.

Sasuke had opened his box to find a section of miniature red tomatoes, his favorite.

Naruto muffled his laughter for a second, moving his box to the side so he didn't spill it, and proceeded to roll on the ground and laugh.

Sasuke turned a little pink in the cheeks and sighed, "Shut the hell up dobe, you are being annoying."

Sakura caught wind of Sasuke's embarrassment and moved over towards Naruto and delivered a vicious punch to Naruto's head.

"AGH! Sakura-chan! I'm still not used to your monstrous strength…"

Sakura's face went red in anger and her eyes grew narrow with vicious intent.

"What did you say about me…." She growled.

Naruto realized his mistake too late and panicked, but all was too late for him when another punch sent him flying backwards.

The three finally calmed down and ate quietly for a while, Sasuke seemed very satisfied after eating his tomatoes and the rest of his bento's contents, while Naruto still had a pout on his face after his brutal beating, while Sakura was smiling at all of them being together.

Finally, once everyone was done. The last bento box was still left, but Sakura spoke.

"So what were you guys doing when I got here anyway?"

"Sasuke challenged me to a contest; to see who can hit the crossbar from the farthest distance the fastest, is the easiest way to put it," Naruto replied.

Sakura chuckled, "Seems fun. What made you guys want to do that?"

"Well it all started when Kakashi-sensei…"

That is when Naruto got an idea, "Sakura-chan, can I take that last bento box?"

"Ugh….sure that's fine. Are you really still hungry?"

Naruto then took the box and stood up, he remembered seeing Kakashi sitting against a tree and sure enough he was still there, "No, I'm not hungry anymore, but I am sure Kakashi-sensei is," Naruto turned and pointed towards his trainer and mentor.

"Who is that?" Sakura said.

"Oh yeah, you haven't met Kakashi-sensei yet! Come on Sakura-chan! I'm sure he will want to thank you for the food you made us anyway."

Obliging to what he was saying, Sakura got up and followed Naruto to where the professional was underneath the tree, still reading his book. Sasuke walked off back towards the field to continue trying.

"Eh, Kaka-sensei!" Naruto shouted

Kakashi lowered his book from his face and looked to see Naruto and a young girl walking towards him. As politely as he could under his mask, he smiled, "Well hello Naruto, and is this girlfriend or something?"

Naruto and Sakura both went bright red in the face, Naruto just chucked while Sakura avoided the question, but chuckled, "Hi Kakashi-san, my name is Sakura Haruno, and I am just one of Naruto and Sasuke's friends."

Kakashi just smiled more, "Well that is nice, I'm sure that appreciate you being a part of both of their lives, just as much as you enjoy being a part of theirs."

Kakashi's comment was full of warmth and sincerity that made Sakura feel happy and meaningful.

"Here. I had originally made this for Naruto, because he eats like a pig sometimes, but I think it would be better if you had it instead. You look like you're hungry anyway."

Kakashi took the box from her with gratitude, "Thank you very much Sakura, and it was nice to meet you."

"You too, Kakashi-san!" Sakura said as her and Naruto walked back towards where they were originally.

Sakura had decided to stay and watch the two finish their contest, but in the hour that she was there, neither had progressed any, apart from Naruto who did end up hitting the crossbar from 20 yards, but seemed helpless from 30.

Sasuke was still struggling from 40, barely missing his mark on most occasions.

After a little while longer of watching, Sakura decided to stand up and maybe try and help with their problems. Sakura approached Naruto as he took another shot, this one being way to far left, but having the right distance and power on it.

"Naruto, maybe you should try to straighten out your foot when you strike the ball," Sakura advised.

Naruto turned to face Sakura, surprised that she was giving him advice, but instead of neglecting it, he accepted it and smiled. This time, his shot took a straighter path and had just the right speed and power on it to reach its mark.

The ring of the ball hitting the bar filled everyone's ears. Naruto smiled his large Cheshire-esque grin and turned to Sakura and wrapped his hands around her tightly, "Sakura-chan! You are a genious! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!"

Sakura blushed and laughed a bit, begging Naruto to let go and laughing a little more when he finally did.

Naruto then moved the ball back to 40 yards where Sasuke was, much to Sasuke's displeasure. The two continued at for another good period of time.

Sakura and Naruto teamed up, with Sakura giving Naruto occasional advice, and Naruto quickly obliging to what she was saying.

Then, once she was getting fed up with how long they were taking, Sakura went up to Naruto after he finished a shot and grabbed the ball from next to him without saying a word.

Naruto just watched Sakura take the ball, but was too determined to accomplish his task to realize what she was doing. Sasuke hadn't paid much attention to either of them the entire time, so was oblivious to her when she walked to the 50 yard mark and placed the ball down.

It wasn't until a shout of "Cha!" was heard, and the sound of a foot hitting the ball was made that the two looked up in the air to see a ball making its way towards the goal.

_PING_

Once more, the sound of rubber and metal colliding resonated through the air.

The two boys turned to see little Sakura Haruno standing proudly with her hands on her hips and her sandals tossed to the side.

Sasuke eyes were wide with astonishment, while Naruto's mouth was open and eyes were widened with amazement.

"Sakura-chan, you're amazing!" He shouted.

Sakura just giggled and put her sandals back on and walked away,

"I will see you guys later!" She shouted over her shoulder as she proceeded to walk home.

Kakashi got up from his spot beneath the tree and put his book in his pocket, "At least now I know that they will finally get it." He said as he proceeded to walk his own way from the field as well. Sure enough as he was walking away, he heard the sounds of two balls hitting the crossbar almost simultaneously.

The two were now sitting on the ground, exhausted from the past few hours of constantly shooting and aiming for the crossbar. They had accomplished hitting it from 20, 30, and 40, but to win they had to hit it from 50, just like they had said.

"So what was she telling you?" Sasuke asked.

"Huh?" Naruto asked confused.

"Sakura. What did she tell you to help you?"

Naruto just looked at Sasuke for a second before smiling mischievously, "I'm not telling you, teme."

An annoyed look flashed over Sasuke's face before standing up and trying his shot again. His shot curved far to the left from his intended target, just like Naruto's had before Sakura helped him.

Naruto then got up slowly and went to hit his next shot. His was too low, but had the correct trajectory and power to get to the target, he just needed to height.

"You should focus on striking lower on the ball, dobe."

Naruto looked at Sasuke curiously, _'why was he giving advice?'_

That was when it clicked for Naruto, Sasuke was trying to coax him into giving him the advice Sakura had given him. The young Uzumaki found himself in that thought process and ignored the advice Sasuke had just given him and lined up another shot. This shot was a pure replica of the last one, too low, but everything else was correct.

"Told ya." Sasuke replied smugly.

"Oh yeah, well maybe you should strike it with your foot straight rather than off to the side!"

Naruto and Sasuke realized that they both just had to apply what they were missing and they could win. With one final push of the ball, the two rolled the balls out from their feet and struck them.

The two flew in a perfect parabolic pattern, before crushing the bar to make it resonate the loudest they have ever heard it, at the exact same time.

The boys dropped to the floor in both disappointment, and relief; disappointed that they tied, but relieved that they were finally done.

"Not bad, teme."

"Shame you lost though, dobe."

"What are you talking about?! They hit at the same time, we tied!"

"Hnf. Whatever."

**A/N: Just a fun little chapter I got the idea of after remembering the episode where Sakura is the one to beat out Sasuke and Naruto had tree climbing using chakra control, and I thought it fit this scenario well!**

**Anyway, hopefully you see a chapter before June 6****th****, and if you don't, you will get one around June 18****th**** when I get back!**

**See you guys next time!**


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